,,)\>\ww\y'mw~'*^^^^'*^^^~*^^mmmmmmBBm 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 
— 




Shelf...xT3- 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



r 




A TREATISE 



ON 



CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 



BY 

RICHARD TREFFRY. 

Joined the Conference in 1792. 






Boston, Mass. : 

Mcdonald, gill & co., 

Office of the Christian Witness, 

36 Bkomfield St. 

1388, 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1888, 

by Mcdonald, gill A ( 

I.i the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



The Libra r\ 
of Congress 



WASHINGTON 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Preliminary Observations - 



CHAPTER II. 
Christian Perfection Explained - ... 16 



CHAPTER III. 

Christian Perfection Is Attainable in This Life 35 



CHAPTER IY. 

Testimonies of Divers Authors Virtually Con- 
firming the Doctrine of Christian Perfection 58 
8 



4 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER V. 
Objections Answered ------- 87 



CHAPTER VI. 

Consequences Resulting from the Opinion that 
the Death of the Body [s Necessary to the 
Destruction of Sin 128 



CHAPTER VII. 
Christian Professors Exhorted to Seek Perfi 

TION IN Il0LIM>s 169 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Directions to Professing Christians How to At- 
tain to a State of Holiness - - 172 



CHAPTER IX. 

Advice to Those Who Profess to be Perfected 

in the Love of God ..---- ISO 



INTRODUCTION. 



EiciiAiiD Tbeffbt, the author of this volume, was an 
able minister of the English Wesleyan Connection. lie 

joined the Conference in 1792, and for many years * 
most eloquent defender of the doctrine of Christian per- 
fection. 

An American edition of this work has never before Teen 
published, and yet it is one of the most able treatise 
the subject which has ever been written. Its arguments 
are clear and conclusive, its illustrations pertinent and con- 
vincing, and its references to human authority rich and 
varied. 

We cannot allow a volume so rich in thought, so elo- 
quent in expression, and so Christlike in spirit, to slumber 
in utter obscurity, especially in this age, when such pro- 
ductions are so eagerly sought, and so profitably read. 

We commend the careful and prayerful reading of this 
volume to such as have lingering doubts as to the possi- 
bility of such an experience in this life. We are sure the 
honest inquirer will find abundant light cast on his path- 
Way; the skeptical, we are quite sure, will arise from its 
perusal with his doubts removed; while the humble seeker 
will be led into the full liberty of perfect love. 

W. McDOXALD. 



PREFACE 



The subject of the following pages is of vital import- 
ance to Christians generally; to apologize, therefore, for 
the present attempt at its illustration is unnecessary. 
That the observations here set forth will carry conviction 
to every reader's mind, is more than the author is enti- 
tled to expect. There are few doctrines, however various 
and conclusive the arguments which may be furnished for 
their support, that are so palpable to the common sense 
of every man as to command universal credence. Doc- 
trines are often prejudged, and pronounced erroneous be- 
fore they are examined. Many, through imbecility or 
temerity of mind, reject the truth on the authority of 
others; and thus error holds its undiminished sway, and, 
like an hereditary disease, is transmitted to posterity. 

It is from the Church that the influence must go forth 
to enlighten and save the world; and that influence will be- 
come more mighty and overwhelming in proportion to the 
increase of personal piety among its members. Every at- 
tempt, therefore, to elevate the standard of the Christian 
character must commend itself to the attention of those 
who are most interested in the welfare of mankind. 

The doctrine taught in the following pages, the author 
is aware, is far from being popular. Frequently has it been 
the subject of animadversion, prejudice and sarcasm; but 
7 



S P KEF ACE. 

were it possible to prove it to be false, could it be demon- 
strated that the Bible teaches the necessary ex of in- 
dwelling sin until death, and that nil the arguments which 
have been deemed favorable to Christian ] are 
fallacious and inconclusive, even then the mosl Berious 
cusation that could reasonably be preferred against the 
advocates of this doctrine would be that of entertaining 
too exalted a view of the character of Christianity, and 
that of expecting more from its influence in the pr< 
world than they can possibly realize. And whether these 
are evils of such magnitude and prevalence as to merit 
very severe censure, the author leaves to be d< I 
by those who deem themselves competent ju« 

One chapter in this work is devoted wholly to citations 
from various writers. On these the reader will of co 
form Ins own judgment. It la pleasant to remark, when 
party names are forgotten, and the si rife ^i words is laid 
aside, how Christians of different ages, countries and cr< 
harmonize on those subjects which are most essential to 
the existence of Christianity. 

To the attention of Christian pi 
fectionately submitted. It was written, not to enkindle 
the fires of controversy among them, but to maintain the 
cause of divine truth, and advance the into onal 

holiness; and if these ends should be at all answered by 
the present publication, the labors of the author will be 
recompensed. 



9 CHAPTER I. 

PBEIJMINABY OBSERVATION 

Chbistiakity is the doctrine of Christ ; it com- 
prises, not only wliat lie taught during his personal 
ministry upon earth, but all that had been previ 
ly "shewed erning him, "by the mouth of all 

his prophets," and subsequently enjoined by "the 
commandment of the Apostl the Lord and 

Saviour.*' The Scripture, the] d of 

Christianity; here stand i 1 the character of 

its founder, the principles of its constitution, the 
details of its history, and the privileges of its sub- 
jects: and this record is entires it can receive no 
addition to its requisitions, nor admit any abatement 
of its claims. Nothing can form an integral part of 
Christianity now, that was not included in it when 
the volume of revelation was up. Its stan- 

dard is not lowered, nor its privileges frittered away 
by the ravages of time; it is a "kingdom which 
cannot be moved," and believers of the present age 
participate in all the benefits of the same "common 
salvation," and realize the same enjoyments as those 
did who "first trusted in Christ." 

And as the holy Scriptures were " given by inspira- 
tion of God," and for the express purpose of making 
9 



10 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

us wise unto salvation, it must be assumed, that the 
instruction afforded us in them is theological in- 
struction ; it is not only the teaching of Tied, hut it 
is the science of godliness; the terms employed are 
human, but the sentiments conveyed are divine. 
Here " all things are of God." 1- there an exhibi- 
tion of privileges? It is rding to the good 
pleasure of" God, and "to the praise of the 
His grace." Is there a call to duty ? It is to be done 
"heartily, as to the held/' I- repentance enjoined? 
It is "repentance toward God!' — wrought in us by 
a "godly sorrow," and issuing in an acknowL 
ment of God's truth. Are we called to I 
of faith? It is "faith in God"; — the "faith E 
God's elect," — the " faith of the operation of ( - 
and without which " it is impossible to please him." 
Are we required to "go on unto perfection?" It is 
to the perfection of " holiness in the fear of God." 

In determining how far any specific doctrine is of 
divine authority, nothing is more j than a 

clear and accurate knowledge of that doctrine, with 
the terms used to define it. "There i ords 

that will not be defined ; " and p> 
considered one of those words; on which account, 
Dr. Jer. Taylor declares, "Perfection is an infinite 
word"; a word which, in its m Stive f< 

defies all definition. Perfection is either absolute 
relative. Absolute perfection is peculiarly and in- 
alienably the prerogative of God. He only hath 
immortality, and, strictly speaking, lie only hath 
perfection. His greatness is unsearchable. His un- 



PRELMIXAR Y OBSER VA TIOXS. 11 

derstanding is infinite, and His ways are past finding 
out. All imaginable and possible excellency in the 
most exalted degree, belongs essentially to God's 
nature, and is inseparable from His being. His per- 
fection is both inconceivable and incommunicable; 
"an absolutely perfect creature is an impossibility," 
for "were God to communicate his own peculiar 
perfection to another, that other would be God.'' 
" In comparison with God, the highest and most exalt- 
ed of all creatures is, and will be eternally, imperfect 
and defective." 

But words, considered as the signs of things, have 
frequently a latitude of application ; and when used 
to describe the nature of God, they have always a 
peculiarity of meaning. u Who in the heaven can 
be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of 
the mighty can be likened unto the Lord ? " " There 
is none holy as the Loud," none so absolutely, so 
immutably, and so independently holy as Jehovah ; 
yet there are "holy men," "holy angels," and "holy 
things." Perfection is ascribed to God ; our " Father 
in heaven is perfect," and in this respect " there is 
none like the Lord ; " yet we have his sanction for 
the application of this term, to " those who dwell in 
houses of clay, whose foundation is the dust? " 

Perfection considered relatively, implies, that the 
persons or things to which it is attributed are com- 
pletely disposed and adapted to the purpose for 
which they are designed. Thus Hooker declares, 
" We count those thing perfect which want nothing 
requisite for the end whereunto they were instituted." 



12 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

Hence everything that exists, whether of divine or 
human operation, is supposed to have ii 
relative perfection ; that is, its finished, comph 
or matured state. 

There is a certain hind of perfection that 1 
to every piece of mechanism, where all its j 
complete, all suitably disposed, and all harmonioi 
co-operating for the accomplishment of the v 
which they were formed, and though human com- 
positions are often marked by dei 1 by 
accidents, yet perfection is uniformly aii 
not unfrequently attained. We read of "a 
weight," "a perfect measure," and of "the I 
God being perfected M ; and thus we allow a 
to be "perfect in the u to paint 
"a perfect likeness," and a musician "to pla/. 
fection." 

In the kingdom of nature tion of a m 

exalted order prevails. The works of tl 
all perfect. Throughout all the 
"from the cedar-tree that is in Lebanon, 
the hyssop that springeth out of the wall ' alar 

and beautiful progression, towards a point of pr. 
tion, is obvious to the most superficial and 

although the barrenness of the soil, the incl< 
of the climate, or the obstructed circulation of the 
juices may cause some plants to be sickly and 
stunted in their growth, so that they " bring no fruit 
to perfection," yet these defects serve more stro] 
to confirm the idea that there is a general perfection 
in the species. 



PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 13 

Look through the animal kingdom, from the huge 
leviathan, and unwieldly elephant, down to the 
smallest mite, and the most diminutive particle of 
animated matter, and you will perceive that they 
have all their distinct states of perfection. Occa- 
sionally, indeed, we see a monster in nature having a 
deficiency or a redundancy of parts, yet even this 
serves to evince that there must be a standard of 
perfection belonging to animal nature, as certainly 
as the aberrations of error prove that there must be 
lines of truth. 

The terms perfect, perfected, and perfection, occur 
in more than sixty instances in the Old and New 
Testaments ; and they are not only applied to per- 
sons of eminent and peculiar piety, but they are al- 
most invariably used to describe a completeness or 
maturity of religious or Christian character. " The 
words perfect and perfection," says Calmet, "answer 
to the Hebrew words tham and thummln, which 
properly signify entire, and complete, without 
blemish or defect ; irreprehensible, — perfect." And 
he adds, " Perfect knowledge, a perfect law, perfect 
charity, a perfect work, in these expressions the 
word perfect signifies whatever may make those 
characters complete, finished, entire, without defici- 
ency." And Witsius observes, "It cannot be 
denied, that sometimes the Scripture makes mention 
of some who are said to be perfect in this life " : and 
in explanation, he says, " there is a perfection of 
parts, and that both subjective with respect to the 
whole man, in so far as he is sanctified wholly in 



14 CHRISTIAN PERFECTIOX. 

spirit, soul, and body, 1 Thess. v. 23; and objective^ 
with respect to the whole law, when all and every 
one of the duties prescribed by God are observed 
without exception. Of this David was speaking, 
Psalm cxix. 128. 'I esteem all thy pn con- 

cerning all things to be right ; and I hate every false 
way.' And it is said of Zacharias and Elizabeth, 
Luke i. 6, 'And they walked in all the command- 
ments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.' r That 
perfection, spiritually and relatively i red, is a 

doctrine of the Holy Scriptures, the followii 
sufficiently demonstrate: u (l<>d will not cast away 
a perfect man"; "Mark the perfect man"; " 
workers of iniquity shoot in secret at th< 
" The upright shall dwell in the land, and the per- 
fect shall remain in it"; "The uprightness of the 
perfect shall direct his way" ; " Be ye therefore per- 
fect"; " Every one that is perfect shall be as his 
master"; "We speak wisdom among them thai are 
perfect"; "Let us therefore, as many as be 
be thus minded**; * c lie gave some, apostles; and 
some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, 
pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the sain; 
"Whoso keepeth his word, in him La the love of 
God perfected " ; "If any man offend not in word 
the same is a perfect man." Seeing, then, that men 
have existed in different periods of the world, who 
have been divinely denominated perfect, there must 
necessarily exist such a state as perfection ; for there 
can be no more a perfect man without perfection, 
than there can be a healthy man without health, or 



PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 15 

a wise man without wisdom, or a living man without 
life. And this state is, with strict propriety of 
speech, denominated " Christian Perfection," seeing 
the term is applied to men as Christians, and illus- 
trative of their Christian character; and though some 
of them lived long before the incarnation of Christ, 
yet the spirit that was in them was " the spirit of 
Christ"; the persecution they endured was "the 
reproach of Christ"; the piety they possessed 
"the mind of Christ," and the glory they anticipated 
was " the glory of Christ." 



CHAPTER II. 

CHRISTIAN PERFECTION EXPLAINED. 

From the texts quoted in the preceding chapter, 
and the observations deduced from them, it will, 
we deem, be conceded, that the doctrine of Christian 

perfection is taught in the Bible. The genuine 
signification of the term perfection, and the 
of its attainment, may be matters "of doubtful 
disputation;" but the existence of a state of mind, 
which the " lively oracles " designate perfection, is 
■unquestionable. Christianity is a perfect Bystem, it 
makes " the comers thereunto perfect/' A peri 
Christian " lives at the height of his being, not 
only at the top of his spiritual, but of his intel] 
ual life." lie is, in the best sense of the word, 
"an accomplished characte 

In order that the nature of Christian perfection 
may be understood, we will enter on a more en- 
larged and particular explanation. It is said, 
"Definitions are hazardous," yet they are expe- 
dient; many "speak evil of things that they under- 
stand not." "We may fix the standard too high, — 
Christian perfection does not imply a freedom from 
natural infirmities ; the most matured Christian 
while yet in the body is physically imperfect, — or 
16 



CHRISTIAN PERFECTION EXPLAINED. 17 

we may set it too low, since it cannot harmonize 
with the dominion, or in-being of "the sinful lusts 
of the flesh." 

Christianity being the doctrine of Christ, we in- 
fer that Christian perfection implies a conformity to 
the will of Christ, in all that relates to inward and 
outward holiness, to the temper of our minds, and 
the conduct of our lives. 

That Christianity furnishes such a principle, will 
scarcely be questioned. The acts and achievements 
of Christians, their firm resistance of evil, their 
utter contempt of the world, their stern and un- 
deviating adherence to truth, their calm endur- 
ance of the most exquisite and reiterated sufferings, 
their glorying in tribulation, their taking joy- 
fully the spoiling of their goods, and the hazarding 
of their lives for the sake of the Lord Jesus, afford 
the most indubitable evidence of the existence 
and power of Christian principle. This is the re- 
ligion of the heart. " There it subsists as the foun- 
tain of spiritual life ; thence it sends forth, as from 
the central seat of its existence, supplies of life and 
warmth through the whole frame ; there is the soul 
of virtue ; there is the the vital principle which ani- 
mates the whole being of a Christian. " This prin- 
ciple is love, the love of God dwelling in the heart, 
by the renewing and abiding influence of the Holy 
Ghost. Love, considered naturally, is a genuine 
predominant affection of the soul, an affection of 
which no man can possibly divest himself, and an 
affection in universal operation ; but love to God 



18 CIiniSTIAX PEBFFJ rinx. 

is not under the control of man. The human heart, 
in its unregenerate and desperately wicked 
in possession of no principle analogous to the 
of God. 

Such considerations lead to the conclusion i 
our love to God is a reflection of His love to us, a 
fruit of his adopting love, a principle tl 
ist only in the regenerate mind which is renewed in 
knowledge, in righteousness and true holin< 
" every one that loveth, is horn of God and knoweth 
God " ; and as " God is loi ence 

of t lie divine nature, and all the pel 
Deity are hut modifications of love ; so ( Christianity 
is love. Love is the end of tin* commandtm 
it is the fulfilling of the law, for " the whole dm 
man, as to the principle of it. resolves into iov 
" it is the essence, the spirit and life of all virtue; 
it is not only the fust and great commandment, but 
it is all the commandments in one"; tfc it sum 

and substance of every precept." All particular 
duties, though distinguished in the matt 
united in love as their principle and centre. 
Austin observes that "all other virtues, piety, pru- 
dence, humility, chastity, temperance, fortitude, 
love, diversified by other names. Liberal lov< 
supplies to the poor; patient love, forgives injur 
and love is the universal cause, which, within its 
fruitful womb, contains all the particulars of our 
obedience, and is naturally productive of them all; 
so that virtually, it is all religion; it is godlim 
and temperance, and charity, and humility, and 



CimisTIAX PERFECTION EXPLAINED. 19 

righteousness, and ], the com 

cause and parent of them all." All are but emana- 
tions of the love of God, branches produced by 
this root, and streams flowing from this fountain; 
and whatever precepts are enjoined in the Scrip- 
tures, or ordinances established in the church, they 
must all be regarded as auxiliaries for the mainte- 
nance of this divinely implanted principle. 

But love to God may exist in the soul in a state 
of infantile weakness ; it may be genuine, and yet 
immature. "New-born babes" love sincerely, but 
not vigorously. There are different degrees of love ; 
some love much; others, differently circumstanced, 
love 1 little ; for where the heart is not entirely under 
the dominion of grace, and the body of sin not total- 
ly destroyed, there the love of (rod is not ] 1; it 
has not the complete occupancy of the heart; de- 
praved principles maintain a struggle for the mas- 
tery ; the motions of sin work powerfully in the 
members; "the old man which is corrupt, according 
to the deceitful lusts," though mortally wounded, 
is yet in existence: and while any portion of the 
carnal mind remains, so much of that which is 
enmity against God continues in operation. Hence, 
before the Christian principle can reign sole mon- 
arch of the affections; before we can love God with 
all the heart, the old man must be crucified ; the 
enmity must be abolished; "there is no way to 
deal with enmity but by its abolition or destruction. 
As every drop of poison, is poison, and will infect ; 
and every spark of fire, is lire, and will burn ; so 



20 CHRISTIAN PERFECT!' 

every thing of sin, the last and least of it is enmi- 
ty," and will destroy. "Mortification abates its 
force, but doth not change its nature. Gri 
changeth the nature of man, but nothing 
change the nature of sin; it must th be de- 

stroyed; the old leaven must be purged out, that 
we may become a new lump.*' This is done by the 
renewing of the Holy Ghost, by the accomplish- 
ment of God's ancient, bui a] pron 
"Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye 
shall 1)0 clean, from all your filthiness, and from all 
your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I 
give you, and a new spirit will I put within you, 
and 1 will take away the stony hear! out of your 
flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh." "This 
promise," saith Henry, "si^ftifies both the blood of 
Christ sprinkled upon the conscience to purify that, 
and to take away the sense of guilt, as those that 
were sprinkled with the water of purification v 
thereby discharged from their ceremonial unci 
ness ; and the grace of the spirit sprinkled on t lie 
whole soul to purify it from all corrupt inclinations 
and dispositions, as Naaman was cleansed from his 
leprosy by dipping in Jordan." Christ was Him- 
self clean, else His blood could not have been 
ing to us; and it is a holy Spirit that makes us 
holy; "From all your filthiness, and from all your 
idols, will I cleanse you, and I will save you from 
all your uncleanness." When this promise is ful- 
filled, sin considered as a principle, becomes extinct : 
the infection of our nature is healed ; the strong 



CHRISTIAN PERFECTION EXPLAINED. 21 

man is entirely dispossessed of his palace, and his 
goods are all spoiled; and the soul being wholly 
freed from inbred corruption, will be enabled to 
love God perfectly ; not so as to preclude the possi- 
bility of increase, or enlargement ; for as the Holy 
Ghost who is the sole agent by which the love of 
God is shed abroad in the believing soul, can shine 
with clearer light, communicate more profound dis- 
coveries of the exceeding riches of divine grace, 
and impress it with a deeper consciousness of the 
debt of endless gratitude it owes to God, this love 
will know no bounds to its existence, nor period to 
its increase ; but it will be so far perfected as to 
hold the entire dominion in the soul, to know no 
rival disposition, nor feel any opposing principle ; 
for to love God "with all the heart as lie requires, 
implies that our heart be filled with his love, so that 
no room be left for any other passion." Neither the 
pleasures of sin, nor the seductions of the world, nor 
the lures of the flesh, will then be able to hold any 
ascendency over the heart, or alienate the affections 
from the sole object that has engrossed them ; for 
when love has the supreme authority in the mind, 
every other passion is made its willing captive, and 
becomes subservient to its sway ; and therefore, to 
use the language of a late writer, it cannot "so 
properly be said to be in the soul, as the soul to be 
in that, as it is the whole man wrapped up in one 
desire " ; and when this desire centres wholly in 
God, when he alone sits enthroned in the affections, 
then " every high thing that exalteth itself against 



22 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

the knowledge of God " down, and ev 

thought is brought into captivity to the oh 

of Christ. And lie who is thus 

love," is crucified unto tl hand; 

him ; to unhallowed < 

for earth-born joys he no ! him 

wealth has lost its splendor, h i brilliai 

pleasure its attraction ; and b 

sin, he is " alive unto God through J 

Lord." God is his all, " 

and his crown " ; and in tl Inn- 

tarily offers up him 

ment of Him to whom his more than all is d 

understanding to 

tions ; his v\ ill to Bubmit to hi 

dispensations ; his affections to adore and re 

His eternal Majesty: his talents rth tlie 

glory of His name : and his very life, if n< 

evince his inviolabl hment to His ( 

as this love knows no rival, neith it admil 

any interruption. Ii is not a spari 

the blaze of world sperity, and fanned bj 

soft breeze of carnal ] : ; but a flame enkind 

by the sun of right* ^, which many 

cannot quench, nor th - drown. ! 

on the altar, it nevei ; it may no! 

burn with an equally perceptible ii 

may be seasons when the soul is in heavii 

manifold temptations, when the enemy n 

like a flood, when the body loaded with pains 

infirmities may weigh down the mind; but the 



CHRISTIAN PERFECTION EXPLAINED. 23 

tent of a Christian's love to God must not be 
estimated by any ecstasy of feeling, or flights of 
rapture, for these are often accidental circumstances 
attendant on this love, rather than properties essen- 
tial to its existence ; but it should be regarded as a 
predominant and powerfully operative principle of 
heavenly origin and tendency, drawing the soul 
into the closest union with its God, making it jeal- 
ous of His honor, attentive to His ordinance, obser- 
vant of His precepts, and emulous to behold His 
glory. 

He who loves God most ardently will confide in 
Him most implicitly. One of the chief operations of 
love is to inspire us with a favorable opinion of the 
beloved object ; and in proportion as this prevails, 
we shall rest in that object, confide in his veracity, 
and believe that lie will never desert us. Distrust is 
the offspring of suspicion, and want of confidence is 
want of love. Faith, considered as the condition or 
instrument of justification, must necessarily exist 
antecedent to, and independently of love. " He 
that believeth not is condemned already, and the 
wrath of God abideth on him ; and he on whom the 
wrath of God abideth, can neither love God nor be 
loved by him " ; but that sure trust and confidence 
which a man hath in God, that through the merits of 
Christ his sins are forgiven, and which has been 
significantly termed the faith of assurance, can never 
exist without love: for whether the love of God 
shed abroad in the heart, be the ground of the assur- 
ance that we are received into the divine favor ; or 



24 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

whether the consciousness of that favor gives birth 
to this love, nothing can be more demonstrable than 
the fact, that faith and love reciprocally and simul- 
taneously operate upon each other. Therefore the 
apostle declares, "faith worketh by love " ; which it 
does, by creating a disposition, present] 
and ensuring a reward to love 

is more critically and properly rendered, '* faith is 
perfected by love." For perfect 1<>\ eth out 

not only all fear, but all unbelief. Then the 
Christian's confidence acquires such a maturity of 
principle, and stability of characl 
every gloomy suspicion, and hush every distrustful 
fear. 

Christianity product y in God thro 

our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we 
ceived the atonement." But Christian joy is the 
joy of love; indeed, joy is the usual concomitanl 
love; nothing can be a source of joy in possession, 
that is not the subject of -love in anticipation; no 
man will rejoice in what lie con to be an un- 

lovely object; nor in an object in which lie can 1. 
no personal interest ; in proportion as the mind ap- 
preciates the excellency and desirableness of any 
object, the heart will rejoice to possess it. They 
who love God, therefore, cannot fail to rejoice in 
Him, since to love God is to enjoy Him ; and thus 
David said, "Let them that love thy name be joyful 
in thee " ; intimating that joy in God could spring 
only from love to Him; and that those in v: 
hearts the love of God is shed abroad, should avail 



CHRISTIAN PERFECTION EXPLAINED. 25 

themselves of their privilege to magnify the Lord, 
and rejoice in God their Saviour. And in an exact 
ratio as our love towards God abounds, so will be 
the abundance of our joy in Him. He who loves 
God with all his heart, rejoices evermore ; his priv- 
ileges are to him never-failing sources of holy enjoy- 
ment, and perennial springs of rapturous delight. 
Every prospect that opens to his view, becomes an 
avenue of gladness to his heart. God is his exceed- 
ing joy ; in His favor he finds life ; and he is full of 
joy with His countenance. His statutes are his songs 
in the house of his pilgrimage ; his delight is in the 
law of the Lord, and he rejoiceth in His Word as 
one that findeth great spoil. Does he frequent the 
means of grace and the ordinances of religion ? He 
serves -the Loud with gladness, and offers in His 
tabernacles sacrifices of joy. Does he hear the 
gospel? He receives it with joy in the Holy Ghost. 
Does he pray? He makes his request with joy, and 
with joy draws Avater from the wells of salvation. 
Is he persecuted? He rejoices, and is exceeding 
glad, knowing that great is his reward in heaven. 
Dbes he sustain the loss of property? He takes 
joyfully the spoiling of his goods, knowing that in 
heaven he has a better and an enduring substance. 
Is he tempted ? He deems it all joy when lie falls 
into divers temptations, and even counts not his 
life dear unto himself, so that he may finish his 
course with joy. 

Christianity produces peace, for u the fruit of the 
Spirit is love, joy, and peace." "In me,*' said 



26 CHRIS TI AX PERFECTION. 

Christ to his disciples, "}~e shall have peace." The 
kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in 
the Holy Ghost. But Christian peace is the tran- 
quillity of love; it is the undisturbed serenity of a 
heart where the love of God holds the entire poe 
sion. He who loves God is at peace with Him; the 
enmity of his mind is slain ; the wea y which 

he waged war against God ai ; the 

envious and malicious desires, the fierce and un- 
governable passions that one 1 within, and 
created confusion and every evil worl 
ceeded by the harmony of love; and such is the 
intimate and indissoluble union that subsists betw 
love and peace, that nothing can damp the ardor of 
the former, without interrupting, in an equal 
the tranquillity of the latter. But while any portion 
of tie carnal mind remains Ujldestroyed J while the 
old man retains any vitality, the Christian's p 
cannot fail to b donally interrupted; the < 
fliet between the flesh and the spirit, cor- 
ruption and grace, must necessarily create disqu 
hut when that corruption is wholly conquered and 
cast out, and the love of God obtains the entire as- 
cendency and dominion, then all is peace; perf 
perpetual, eternal peace ; a peace which a all 
understanding; not only inexpressible, but inc 
ceivable ; peace as a river, tranquil, silent, and 
exhaustless ; flowing on without interruption, and 
b} r the accession of tributary streams, widening and 
deepening as it ilows, until it loses itself in theoct 
Christianity produces humility. Humbleness of 



CIIBISTIAy PERFECTION EXPLAINED. 27 

mind is one of its most distinguished characteristics, 
and to " be clothed with humility " is one of its most 
imperative requisitions. But Christian humility is 
the lowliness of love ; " charity vaunteth not itself, 
is not puffed up." " As the wax melteth before the 
fire, so doth pride melt away before love ; all haugh- 
tiness, whether of heart, speech, or behavior, van- 
ishes away where love prevails. It bringeth down 
the high looks of him who boasted in his own 
strength, and maketh him as a little child ; diffident 
of himself; willing to hear, glad to learn, easily con- 
vinced, and easily persuaded." And when the love of 
God is perfected in us, we shall possess perfect low- 
liness of mind, a deep and abiding consciousness, 
that before God we are as nothing, not worthy of 
the least of His mercies, undeserving of the crumbs 
that fall from His table ; then we shall rejoice to at- 
tribute all the good we have to God ; we shall j'ield 
Him all the glory ; we shall hold in contempt " the 
praise of men,'' when put in competition with "the 
praise of God"; we shall esteem others better than 
ourselves ; be ready to sit at their feet, to occupy 
the lowest situation, or sustain the meanest office, 
that we may thus serve our generation according to 
the will of God. 

Christianity produces patience. It not only 
teacheth us that we have need of patience, and 
directs us how to get our need redressed, but it 
furnisheth us with the patience required. And 
Christian patience is the long-suffering of love ; 
charity suffereth long, and is kind, is not easily pro- 



28 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

voked, thinketh no evil, beareth all things, believeth 
all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." 
It endures not a few affronts, reproaches, injuries, 
but all things which God is pleased to permit men 
or devils to inflict. For "the most certain token of 
the love of God," saith St. Gregory the Gr< 
that we receive all the adversities thai God shall think 
fit to lay upon us, without any impatience in 
thought, word, or actions." And perfect love will 
arm the soul with invincible patience ; patience will 
then have its perfect work, and its p will be 

rendered perfect and entire, Lacking nothing. 

From the preceding observations, we perceive that 
all the graces of Christianity march under the com- 
mand of love ; and that they advance or declin< 
love revives or languishes. The circulation of the 
life-blood through all the members of the human 
body, is not more essential to give vitality to the 
system, than the existence of the love of God Bhed 
abroad in the heart, is accessary to give being and 
efficiency to the whole body of divine virtues of 
which Christianity is composed. 

"Each other gift which God on man h. 
Its proper bounds and duo reflection knows; 
To one fix'd purpose dedicates its power, 
And, finishing its act, exists no more." 
But love's more ample, more enduring sway, 

"Nor bound by time, nor subject to decay, 
In happy triumph shall for ever live, 
And endless good diffuse, and endless praise receivn 

But Christian perfection implies, not only the 
perfection of the divine principle of love, with all 



CHRISTIAN PERFECTION EXPLAINED. 29 

its heavenly train of attendant graces, but the uni- 
form and consistent exemplification of Christian 
practice. This necessarily supposes a knowledge 
of the rules by which our conduct must be directed. 
Christianity has its rules ; it is not merely an ex- 
haustless fund of spiritual benefits and divine 
enjoyments, to enrich and satiate the soul, but a 
complete summary of moral precepts to regulate the 
practice. It furnishes rules for the conduct of the 
mind, for the subjugation of the tempers, for the 
government of the tongue, for the occupation of 
the time, and for the practice of the whole life. It 
instructs us as to the principle by which we should 
be invariably actuated, and the object at which we 
should uninterruptedly aim. There is no rank in 
life, no avocation in the world, no situation in society, 
in which man is allowed to live to himself, or to 
shape his own course. A rational creature cannot 
be a lawless creature. He who made man has the 
sole right to regulate his actions. 

It must, indeed, be conceded, that many professors 
are lamentably and culpably defective in their 
knowledge of the divine will. They have acquired 
some general views of the outlines of Christian 
morality, and they have learned to " abhor that 
which is evil," when it presents itself to them in 
acts of barefaced atrocity ; but of the nature of that 
commandment which is exceeding broad, of the re- 
quisitions of that law which is a copy of the Eternal 
mind, and a transcript of the divine nature, and 
which is holy, just, and good, they have no adequate 



30 CHRISTIAN PERFECTL 

conception. To whatever cause this 

be partially attributed, it is mainly 

their want of love. Love invariably 

quaintance with the beloved . not ^ 

person merely, but with his mind and pu 

love a benefactor, and yet evin< licitudt 

know how to please him, is imj 

God can never exist but in union with a 

of His will, since the revelation whi 

of Himself to the belie 

of His i , or abstrac 

riches of His « md the requi I I lis 

law. " He thai Loveth not, knoweth i. 

God is love " : and io eldom far in a 

when knowledge lags behind. Wk T: 

'Lord is with them that fear Him, and Ii 

them His covenant." k * And 

the men of extraordinary revelations, bn 

were also men of exl raordiua 

made privy to the of heaven, and the hid 

will of the Almighty, but such as performed His 

vealed will at a high of si ri 

rest of the world? They were ti. . the 

Abrahams, the Elijahs, and the Daniels; such as 

the Scripture remarkably t< of, tha 

' walked with God.'" 

But Christian perfection not only sup] 
knowledge of evangelical pr and privile 

but a practical conformity to all that Christianity 
enjoins. A perfect Christian lives by rule, whel 
lie eats or drinks, or whatsoever he does, he does all 



CIIPdSTIAX PERFECTION EXPLAIXED. 31 

to the glory of God ; hence his practice corresponds 
with his profession ; from the good treasure of his 
heart he bringeth forth good things. His actions 
are the result of principles, ] ermanent and god- 
like principles, and his whole life is regulated 
by the perfect law of liberty. His morality 
is not superficial and showy, but solid and substan- 
cial. He is virtuous, not by constraint, but willing- 
ly. The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in him, 
because he walks not after the flesh but after the 
Spirit. He is sober and temperate, not merely be- 
cause sobriety and temperance are virtues enjoined 
in the New Testament, but because he is under the 
dominion of grace, which has subordinated his 
animal appetites, and controlled his sensual desires. 
He loves his neighbor as himself, not on account of 
the benevolence of his actions, or because his per- 
sonal accomplishments, or endearing manners merit 
his approval ; but because he perfectly loves God. 
"As man we do not luve man. There is a love of 
partialitj-, but not of benevolence ; of sensibility, but 
not of philanthropy; of friends and favorites, of 
parties and societies, but not of man collectively. 
We must participate something of the divine nature, 
before we can really love the human" In close and 
indissoluble union, therefore, with the love of God, 
is the love of our neighbor. " He who loveth God 
loveth his brother also ; but he who loveth not God, 
though he may fondly flatter his brother when he is 
heaping favors upon him, yet when he turns to be 



32 CHRIS 1'IAX PERFECTION 

his enemy, his flattery will degenerate into bit 
ness, and his fondness be supplanted by re\ 

And because the Christian loves his neighbor 
himself, he conscientiously and invariably 
* truth with his neighbor, lie never imposes on his 
neighbor's ignorance, or credulity, by pi 
attachment which he has nevei the relation 

of circumstances which have n< 1. And 

knowing that there are not only lyin but lying 

actions, he avoids such tones, and 
indications, as tend to convey erroneous i 
the mind; he never colors a subj< 
assume a different aspect, nor conceals a part of the 
truth for the pin E dissimulation, nor m 

rash and confident assertions en a question which lie 

has never examined ; niueh Less ^^-> he hypocritic- 
ally profess what he has never enjoyed, or 

cheat others into B pinion of him by any 

blance of singular sanctity. And in all his dealings 
with men, he inviolably keeps his word; I 
heed unto his ways, that he sin not with his tonj 
prudence guards him against making rash VQWS ; and 
what he promises, he p mould he I 

swear to his own huil, and bind himself to the per- 
formance of that which he subsequently finds will 
be to his temporary disadvantage, yet he clianj 
not. And as "love worketh no ill to his neighl 
he studiously avoids doing him any injury, lie 
never wounds his reputation by pro] J ill- 

founded or slanderous reports concerning him ; he 



CHRISTIAN PERFECTION EXPLAINED. 33 

"rejoices not in iniquity," and therefore the faults of 
others he deplores rather than glories in, and covers 
rather than exposes. Nor does he injure his neigh- 
bor in his property; he is true and just in all his 
dealings; hence he never speculates beyond his 
means, knowing that if he be unsuccessful, it must 
be at the expense of others, who may be ruined by 
his imprudence. In buying and selling he never 
deviates from the straightforward path of honesty ; 
he takes advantage of no man's ignorance or neces- 
sity ; he neither detracts from the value of another's 
property, nor seeks to overrate his own. And he 
strives to make his expenditure come within the 
limits of his income. He contracts no debts without 
a probability of paying them, but cheerfully fore- 
goes the luxuries and conveniences of life, that he 
may owe no man any thing. And he not only does 
justice, but he loves mercy ; according to his ability 
he feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, sympathizes 
with the sick, relieves the miserable, and by his 
example, his influence, his prayers, and his counsels, 
does good to the souls and bodies of his suffering 
fellow-creatures. 

And he lives not only soberly and righteously, 
but godly. He daily walks with God ; his steps are 
ordered by Him, and he does everything with refer- 
ence to His glory. The principle by which he is 
actuated, is love to God ; the rules by which he is 
regulated, are the commandments of God; and these 
commandments, so far from being grievous to him, are 
the rejoicing of his heart, on the fleshly tables of 



34 



CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 



which they are inscribed in indelible characters by 
the Spirit of the living God. Obedience is, there- 
fore, his element; his mind is moulded into it. He 
delights in God, and invariably studies to pi 
Him; whether lie lives, lie lives unto the Lord, and 
whether he dies, he dies unto the Lord: whether 
living, therefore, or dying, he is the Lord's. 



CHAPTER III. 

CHRISTIAN PERFECTION IS ATTAINABLE IN THIS 

LIFE. 

The Holy Scriptures are designed for the regula- 
tion of human conduct upon earth ; all that they 
unfold of doctrine, or reproof, or correction, or 
instruction in righteousness, is intended immediately 
to benefit us in our state of probation. 

The present world is our scene of action, and our 
life-time the season of labor; whatever is now done 
is irrevocable ; human actions are indeed momentary 
in their performance, but they are eternal in their 
consequences ; and as the duties and obligations to 
which the Scriptures so frequently refer, and on 
which they so largely expatiate, relate solely to this 
life, it must be obvious that the perfection to which 
we are invited must be possessed in this world. Let 
us assume that it is unattainable here ; that human 
efforts in all the divinely instituted means of grace, 
succeeded by the effectual working of the Holy 
Ghost, are insufficient to bring us into this state of 
salvation ; then, on what principle can we account 
for the repeated Scriptural exhortation calling us to 
" Be perfect? " Is this precept imperative upon us 
or not ? Admit that it is binding, and you allow 
35 



36 CHRIS TI AX PERFECTION. 

its practicability. Deny it, and we ask, where is 
the propriety or justice of bidding us bo what 
are absolutely prevented from being by the infirmi- 
ties of our nature ? The i of God generally 
refer to the present time, and invariably to the | 
ent life ; whatever we are directed to do must 
performed here. Our course of Christian du 
terminates at death ; and there is as much reason for 
expecting conversion to take place in heaven, 
because we are exhorted to " be com 
is for supposing thai perfection can on] tain- 
ed there, becaue are directed to u beperf< 
When St. Paul thus addressed the Corinthians, 
"This also we wish, even your n it 
be supposed that he wished them all imn y in 
heaven with the spirits of just men made peri 
which must have been his meaning, it" there be no 
such state on earth as perfection? Did he not 
rather desire their "utmost perfection in kno 1 
faith, and hol'ii a man is | 
ered from a dangerous malady, or from the br< 
ing or dislocation of his boB Or to adopt I 
words of Henry, in his comment on that " He 
not only desired that they might be kept from sin, 
but also that they mighl grow in grace, and iucr< 
in holiness, and that all that was amiss among them 
might be rectified and reformed." When the author 
of the epistle to the Hebrews said " Let us go on to 
perfection," did he mean to a state of ex; 
unattainable in this world? Does not the conl 
sufficiently illustrate his design? The Heb; 



It Is attainable ix this life. 37 

had heard the gospel for many years, but though 
they ought to have been teachers, considering the 
privileges with which they had been favored, and 
the instructions they had received, yet they had 
profited so little that they still required to be 
taught the rudiments of Christianity, and the first 
principles of the doctrine of Christ; they were but 
babes, and needed milk, but the apostle desired 
them to go on to perfection, till they were "saved 
from all sin," and " filled with the Spirit and power 
of Christ." And if perfection be considered as a 
fitness for heaven, a ripeness of all the fruits of 
righteousness, and a full exercise of every Christian 
temper, it must obviously appertain to this life ; for 
as there are certain duties that must be performed, 
and attainments that must be made, and virtues 
that must be exemplified in our present sphere of 
action, nothing can be more incongruous than to 
wait for a perfection of these virtues until the 
article of death, or the day of eternity. 

I am aware that Christian perfection, as a doctrine, 
may be credited, while the sentiment for which I 
contend is denied. To be so perfect in holiness as 
to be delivered from all inbred sin is, by many, 
deemed " a test for human frailty too severe." But 
it should be recollected that the doctrine of Scrip- 
ture is salvation ; salvation from sin, deliverance 
from evil. Nothing stands forward so prominently, 
or is so frequently adverted to, or expressed in such 
a variety of language in the volume of inspiration, 
as the subject of salvation. Hence it is said. "Be 



38 <iii;i>TIAX PERFECTION. 

will subdue our iniquities." "Heshall redeem la 
from all his iniquiti k * I will them from 

all their iniquity, whereby they have sin linst 

me." "Thine iniquity is taken away, and I 
is purged." M In tho» and at that time, saith 

the Lord, the iniquity of I shall be sought 

and there shall be none ; and the Bins of Judah, 
they shall nol be found." " I '» l< fid I ha 
thine iniquity to in thee, and I will clothe 

thee with change of raiment." " In that day. I 

shall have cleansed you from all your iniquiti -. I 
Will cause y<»u to dwell in the and th( 

shall be builded." I [e " ga*\ e 1 Kb 

deem ns from all in'hjni: M I !«• w a8 ma 

to take away our sin." "The Lord shall deli 

from every evil work." "Being made . lie 

became the author of eternal salvation unto all f 

that obey I lim." Such a: 

lure on the all important 8ubj< 

from sin : but where ifi , in all th< 

Bpeeoh, the least intimation given that this del'. 

ance is necessarily incomplete until death 
language of Inspiration is, ** Behold now is the 
of salvation." God's design in raising up a horn of 
salvation for us was, that we being delivered oul 

the hands of our enemies, might serve Him without 
fear, in holiness and righteousness all the i 
our life. By our enemies mentioned in thi 
we 'understand sin and Satan; deliverance out of 
their hands implies freedom from their powei; and 
dominion; when this is obtained, we serve ( 



IT IS ATTAINABLE IN THIS LIFE. 39 

without fear, without that fear that hath torment, 
seeing perfect love casteth out fear, and in the pos- 
session of internal holiness, and external righteous- 
ness all the (lavs of our life. 

The first and great commandment is, " Thou shalt 
love the Loud thy God with all thy heart, and with 
all thy soul, and with all thy mind." And this law 
is founded not merely in the good pleasure of the 
divine will, but in the indissoluble relation which 
subsists between the Almighty Creator and His in- 
telligent and immortal offspring. It can, therefore, 
never be abrogated ; its obligations are immutable 
and eternal, and being the law of our dispensation, 
it must be practicable. God binds us to the per- 
formance of nothing beyond the bounds of possi- 
bility. " If a law be absolutely impossible, it 
cancels itself; for there can be no authority in a 
superior to command, nor obligation in a subject to 
obey, in a matter that is not capable of his choice." 
And, as Christians, we are as deeply obligated to love 
God, according to the utmost extent of our ability 
in the present life, as we shall be in the life to come. 
The ability which we possess, while oppressed by a 
load of physical infirmities, and seeing through a 
glass darkly, must of course be greatly inferior to 
that with which we shall be invested, when we put 
off the "burden of the flesh," and see face to face; 
but it is the performance of that alone which, by 
Christ strengthening us, we are enabled now to 
do, that God requires at our hands. If, therefore, 
we cannot love God with all our heart here, then, 



40 CHRISTIAN PERFECTI'* 

our heart must be divided ; a portion of it must re- 
main unoccupied by the love of God, and there must 
be some physical or moral barrier which we cannot 
surmount, that prevents us from loving Him entirely. 
Will God, then, require of us that which we cannot 
perform? Does He bind men to love Him t 
greater extent than that for which His grace can 
capacitate them ? Docs not moral obligation grow- 
out of moral ability? Will not God qualify His 
obedient people to love Him with all that intensity 
of affection which He demands ? I> not this m 
than intimated in the following passage? "The 
LoiiD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the 
heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with 
all thine heart, and with all thy soul." This eir- 
enmcision of the heart, it must be presumed, is 
virtually what St. Paul mentions when he thus ad- 
dresses himself to the Colossians, " Ye are circum- 
cised with the circumcision made without hands, in 
putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the 
circumcision of Christ." And if God thus circum- 
cise the heart, to the intent that Ave may love Him 
with all the heart, and with all the soul ; and if this 
were really done on behalf of the Colossians, does it 
not lead to the conclusion that God qualifies us 
do all that He requires us to do? And did not the 
end which Moses proposed to be accomplished by 
this circumcision of heart, viz., " that thou," said he, 
" mayest live," shew that it was not to be done in 
the article, nor by the act of deatli ? 

The second commandment is like unto the fii 



It IS ATT AIX ABLE IX THIS LIFE. 41 

namely, " Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." 
And this commandment also must be practically and 
perfectly exemplified in this world* The love 
which we are bound to cultivate towards our neigh- 
bor is ,not made to depend on his personal excel- 
lence, or on any friendly disposition which he may 
evince towards us ; for should he curse us, we must 
bless him ; should he despitefully use us, we must do 
him good ; if thine enemy hunger, — and he is no less 
thy neighbor for being thine enemy, — feed him ; if he 
thirst, give him drink, for in so doing thou shalt 
heap coals of fire upon his head. And is not the 
present life the only sphere for the exercise of this 
charity and forbearance towards our neighbor? 
Are we to become eyes to the blind, feet to the 
lame, and benefactors to the poor by " the stroke of 
death?" Our duty towards our neighbors, accord- 
ing to the Church of England, is to " order our- 
selves lowly and reverently to all our betters ; to 
hurt nobody by word or deed ; to be true and just 
in all our dealings ; to bear no malice nor hatred in 
our heart; to keep our hands from picking and 
stealing, and our tongue from evil speaking, lying 
and slandering ; and to keep our body in temper- 
ance, soberness, and chastity." And do not all these 
duties devolve upon man as an inhabitant of this 
world and a member of civil society ? To suppose 
a Christian to be perfect in the performance of these 
works, except in this life, is a palpable absurdity. 

If we proceed from the consideration of the two 
great commandments, so frequently adverted to by 



42 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

the evangelists, to the examination of the epistolary 
parts of the New Testament, we shall find additional 
reasons for believing that Christian perfection is 
attainable in this world. St. Paul's memorable 
prayer for the Ephesians is thus expressed : w * That 
Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith ; thai 
being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to 
comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and 
length, and depth, and height, and to know the love 
of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might 
be filled with all the fullness of God." In this lan- 
guage, according to T. Scott, the apostle prayed 
that the Ephesians "might spiritually and experi- 
mentally know more of the love of Christ, which 
passeth the knowledge of all created beings, and 
could never be fully understood, being, in all re- 
spects, infinite and incomprehensible, that they 
might be so filled with heavenly knowledge, holy 
affections, and consolations, as to leave no room, in 
their souls for error, ignorance, sin, or infelicity; 
but that the fullness of the divine pow< e, light, 

love, and joy, might wholly occupy their hearts, 
and that their powers might be so enlarged a 
receive more and more of these, till they should be 
filled with (or unto) all the fullness of God, as His 
temple was with His glorious presence." The candid 
reader must judge, whether the doctrine for which I 
contend is not most explicitly taught, both in the 
inspired text, and in the judicious comment upon it. 
But to proceed — "Epaphras," said St. Paul to the 
Colossians, " who is one of you, a servant of Christ, 



IT IS ATTAINABLE IN THIS LIFE. 43 

saluteth you ; always laboring fervently for you in 
prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in 
all the will of God." It is scarcely possible to con- 
vey ideas more full or comprehensive, or employ 
language more strong than what the apostle uses in 
the above passage. The will of God is the rule of 
Christian perfection; nothing more can be required, 
nothing less can be acceptable ; and to stand per- 
fect and complete in all the will of God, is to attain, 
I will not say what Doddridge says, to the " great- 
est improvements and establishments in Christian- 
ity," but to a state of entire sanctification, to be in 
temper, disposition, and conduct, all that God 
requires. And as Epaphras labored fervently, and 
agonized in his prayers, that the Colossians might 
be thus perfect in all the will of God, can we doubt 
of the attainableness of such a state ? 

Is it reasonable to suppose that St. Paul would 
have used language descriptive of perfection so 
complete, unless he knew that the Colossians might 
enjoy all that for which Epaphras prayed ? -Nay, 
does not the text carry with it the assumption that 
they were already perfect and. complete in all the 
will of God? and is it not the object of the prayer, 
that they might stand in that state by continuing 
"in prayer," and watching "in the same with 
thanksgiving "? - By referring to some other parts of 
the epistle, we shall discover that this opinion is not 
destitute of foundation. " You," says the apostle, 
" that were sometimes alienated and enemies in 
your minds by wicked works, yet now hath he recon- 



44 CHBISTIAX PERFECTION. 

ciled in the body of his flesh, through death, to pres- 
ent you holy, and unblamable, and unreprovable in 
his sight. Ye are dead, and your life is hid with 
Christ in God. And ye are complete in Him, which 
is the head of all principality and power." 

If we pass on to the following epistle, we shall 
find that the prayers of St. Paul for the Thessalon- 
ians were no less comprehensive than those which 
were presented to God by Epaphras, on behalf of 
the Colossians. u Wherefore also we pray always 
for you, that our God would count you worthy of 
this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his 
goodness, and the work of faith with power, thai the 
name of our Lord Jesns Christ may be glorified in 
you, and ye in Him, according to tin 4 grace of our 
God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now our Lord 
JesuS Christ himself, and God even our Fatl 
which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting 
consolation, and good hope through comfort 

your hearts, and establish you in every good word 
and work." Is not this language descriptive of a 
state of personal and perfect holii; the 

good pleasure, or benevolence of God's goodness 
accomplished in us; to have the name of our Lord 
Jesus Christ glorified in us, and ourselves glorified 
in Him; to be already in possession of everlasl 
consolation, and establishment of heart in every good 
word and work, is to realize all that perfection for 
which we contend. Nor are these the only prayers 
which the apostle offers up to God on behalf of the 
Thessalonians. On the subject of inward holiness, 



IT IS ATTAINABLE IN THIS LIFE. 45 

or entire sanctification, he delights to dwell, and for 
this great blessing he reiterates his intercessions. 
" And the very God of peace," sa}'s he, " sanctify 
you wholly, and I pray God your whole spirit, and 
soul, and body, be preserved blameless unto the 
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.*' To be sanctified 
wholly, implies to be sanctified in every part, and in 
every part perfectly; to be holy, and without 
blemish, or to use the language of Scott, in his com- 
ment on this text, it is to have " every sense, 
member, organ, and faculty completely purified, and 
devoted to the service of God, and that thus they 
might be preserved blameless till the coming of 
Christ." And does not the phraseology employed 
by the apostle most indisputably prove that the 
sanctification for which he prayed is attainable in 
this world ? 

Not the most indirect intimation is given that 
death can at all contribute to the sanctification of 
our nature, or that we must wait until that period 
for the attainment of this invaluable blessing. In 
writing to Timothy, St. Paul declares that all Scrip- 
ture is given that the man of God may be perfect, 
thoroughly furnished unto all good works ; and he 
prayed that the Hebrews might be made perfect in 
every good work. All good works most obviously 
refer to this world, and they are solely designed to 
promote the glory of God, and to benefit our fellow- 
creatures ; and, therefore, a perfection in every good 
work can only exist in our probationary state. 

The advice of St. James to the Christians of his 






46 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

day was, "Let patience have her perfect work, that 
ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothi 
And the context shows the reasonableness of this 
admonition; because they were exposed to divers 
temptations, and subject to various fiery trials, and 
the perfect work of patience would render them 
" complete and mature in every part of the Christian 
character; and in all respects meet and prepared for 
the duties of then ra] stations, and wanting 

nothing in order to the performance of i I 

work." Death will be so Ear from ting the 

work of patience, that it will preclude its i 
forever, by removing the righl om all the 

toils and trials of mortality, and introducing them 
to scenes of unmingled happiness and eternal secur- 
ity. The Scripture also makes mention of faith 
being made perfect ; but faith is the evid 
things not seen ; the range of it- existeu 
ed truth; and when all those invisib 
which are now the objects of faith, become the ob- 
jects of vision, then faith will lie lost ill 
hence death can never minister to the p< n of 

faith. 

And the same remarks, with little variation, will 
apply to hope. The Hebrews were exhorted to 
" shew diligence to the full assurance of hope unto 
the end." For hope, considered as a Christian 
grace, has its sole sphere of operation in time, and 
all the perfection of which it is capable exists in this 
world. Heaven is not only the region of unsullied 
light, but of uninterrupted happiness; and it is 



IT IS ATTAINABLE IX THIS LIFE. 47 

that world of spirits alone that the believer's hope 
refers. Were his enjoyments upon earth as capa- 
cious and as permanent as he desires, there would be 
no conceivable ground for hope, nor any region in 
which it could expatiate ; " for what a man seetli, 
why doth he yet hope for?" u But we are made 
heirs according to the hope of eternal life, which 
God, that cannot lie, promised before the world be- 
gan"; and "we rejoice in the hope of the glory of 
God" ; but when that glory shall be revealed in us, 
hope shall be superseded by possession, and expecta- 
tion swallowed up in enjoyment. 

In the epistle to the Galatians, St. Paul enumer- 
ates several graces, which he denominates M the 
fruit of the Spirit;" and among these, he mentions 
meekness and temperance; the former of which 
signifies a calm and dispassionate state of mind, un- 
der provocations : and the latter, the moderation of 
our sensual appetites against all kinds of excess. 
These are virtues peculiarly adapted to our condition 
in this present world, and it is in our militant state 
only, that they must be perfected. The minister 
must, in meekness, instruct those who oppose them- 
selves ; the hearer must receive with meekness the 
engrafted word ; the Christian must shew his works 
with meekness of wisdom, and every one that 
striveth for the mastery must be temperate in all 
things ; and therefore, said the apostle, " I keep un- 
der my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that 
by any means, when I have preached unto others, I 
myself should be a castaway." 



48 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

The promises of God are either absolute or con- 
ditional. In the former case the concurrence, or co- 
operation of man, contributes nothing to their 
fulfillment ; in the latter they are fulfilled, or dis- 
annulled, on the performance or neglect of our duty. 
And as all things are possible to him that believeth, 
faith no more staggers at the promise of entire 
sanctification than at that of present justification. 
A penitent, broken-hearted sinner believes for par- 
don ; his faith is fixed on the promise of forgiveness, 
and God justifies him from all things. A believer, 
who pants after purity as intensely as lie 
panted for pardon, and who sees the promise of be- 
ing cleansed from all unrighteousness, embraces it 
by faith, comes to the fountain opened for sin and 
uncleanness, and God speaks in mercy and grace to 
his heart, "I will, be thou clean. M 

Believing that it is not by might nor power, but 
by the Spirit of the living Grod, that all moral good 
is effected in us; and that the operations of the 
Holy Ghost, in raising man to a participation of the 
divine nature, are restricted to the period of his 
probation, we feel no scruple in affirming that every 
man is completely meetened in this world for hea- 
ven or hell. And though the change introduced by 
death exceeds all description, and confounds all 
thought, yet it cannot, we conceive, at all change 
our religious character, alter our moral habits, or 
make us more holy than we were before. The 
vessels of honor are here prepared for glory, and the 
vessels of wrath here fitted for destruction. " People 



IT IS ATT AIX ABLE IX THIS LIFE. 49 

talk as if the act of death made as complete a change 
in the nature, as in the condition of man. Death is 
the vehicle to another state of being, but possesses 
no power to qualify us for that state. In conveying 
us to a new world, it does not give us a new heart. 
It puts the unalterable stamp of decision on the 
character, but does not transform us into a character 
diametrically opposite." Our existence in the 
world is the only period allotted us to prepare for 
eternity. Human life is the seed time, and eternity 
is the harvest. This life is designed for the forma- 
tion of the human character ; but the life to come, 
for setting the irrevocable stamp of eternity upon 
it. This is a life of labor, that of rest. This is our 
pilgrimage, that our home. Here we must glorify 
God, there be glorified with God. Here is to be 
endured the hardness of the conflict, there to be 
realized the meed of victory. Here are the deeds 
done in the body, there are to be distributed the re- 
wards for those deeds. Hence, even an ancient 
heathen declared, that " disembodied souls have, 
in the world of spirits, the very same dispositions 
and propensities which they had while they dwelt in 
the body." And a wiser than Virgil affirms, that 
"there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor 
wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest " ; then, he 
that is unjust must be unjust still ; he which is 
filthy be filthy still ; he that is righteous be 
righteous still, and he that is holy be holy still. 

The Bible affords general rules of duty in all the 
ordinary circumstances of life; nor can we easily 



50 CHllISTIAX PERFECTIOX. 

conceive of any situation in which a Christian can 

be placed where the lamp of revelation sheds no 
radiance upon his path. Nothing can he matter of 
duty, as to a Christian's conduct, the knowledge of 
which is unattainable. What God requires of us, 
as to practice, we have capacities and opportunities 
for knowing; for as the will of God is the only 
ground of duty, and as that will is only revealed in 
the Scriptures, to suppose that we cannot attain to 
a knowledge of our duty in every possible 
in effect to conclude either that God requires oi 
that which lie hath not revealed t<» US, or that 
which is revealed to us is, as to many practical pur- 
poses, no revelation at all. But I ven were our 
providential course doubtful, could we gather no 

tain information from the Scriptu to the pre- 

cise line of conduct which, in sonic peculiar a 

duty would hind us to pur ill M th( 

spirit in man, and the inspiration of the AJbnighty 

giveth them understanding." And there arc prom- 
ises which secure to as unerring direction. M In all 

thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy 
path." "The meek will he guide in judgment, and 
the meek will he teach his way." " For thine e 
shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the 
way, walk 3'e in it, when ye turn to the right hand, 
and when ye turn to the left." 

But here let me not be misunderstood. A j 
feet knowledge of the will of God, in reference to 
all things that belong unto our peace, may harmon- 
ize with much ignorance 011 other subjects. The 



// ta ATTAINABLE ix BBS life. 51 

most matured Christian may form a wrong judg- 
ment of men and things ; but this is his infirmity, 
and not his sin. A liability to error is inseparable 
from humanity, and for anything I can prove to 
the contrary, from all finite beings. Absolute and 
universal knowledge is the only infallible guardian 
against mistake. Who can question but what our 
primitive parents knew the will of God perfectly ? 
Nothing essential to their happiness, in their proba- 
tionary state, was concealed from them ; but they 
had not all knowledge, for the woman at least was 
deceived ; and a possibility of deception, in all cases, 
supposes a deficiency of knowledge. And hence a 
mistake in judgment, led to a mistake in practice ; 
but to suppose that mistake unavoidable, would make 
sin necessary, exonorate from all moral blame the 
original offenders, and make the author of their be- 
ing the indirect author of their crimes. And though 
Christians are renewed in knowledge, and thereby 
so thoroughly instructed in that good, and accepta- 
ble, and perfect will of God, as to render all moral 
errors and culpable mistakes avoidable ; yet of a 
thousand things connected with general science 
they know nothing. But it cannot be conceived 
that God will permit any who perfectly love Him, to 
remain ignorant of His will concerning them. Will 
He shed abroad His love in the heart, and yet with- 
hold that instruction by which alone that love may 
be retained? The communion which God has with 
His people is of the most unreserved and intimate 
character. To them He graciously reveals His 



52 cm 

. and ad: in into all I 

His friendship* l4 S I 

Abraham thai thing which I " 1 1 

saith Christ 
for ili<' 

but I 1 I 

have beard of my I I 

yon." •• I ..• pal 
thai Bhineth more and 
4% Then shall w i >w on I 

Lord: I 
and he shall come unto 

and formal rain u: ii." 

Such condescending intim; and pi 

lead n- to believe that he * ho 

is in tl 

will, and be thoroughly 1 in t 

duly; i mmuni< 

lation from heaven, nor bj anj ; 
oi mental invest i : bul 

Lord in the way of his 
understandi 

Scriptures. And th >ugh it mu that 

On many th< 

tians are at ul ter \ ai ian e with i 

Ear as duty i*> o mcerned, 1 

and the more deeply pious portioi 

communities, are not only brought into the uuil 

the faith, but into uni 

the same rule, and they mind tl 

the same God and Father oi 

and through all, is in them all. 



, 



IT IB ATTAINABLE IX Tills LIFE. 53 

And as the end of human knowledge is practice; 
he former i ' Lthout the latl 

communicates a knowL His will, not foi 

lative but practical purposes. Christian practi 
the proper evidence of the true ahd saving kn 
E God. "I [ei know that we k 

him, if we keep his comm&ndme 1 1- nee 

have been found who pot only kn< will of 

Qod perfectly, bjit wh I complete in all that 

will. Of Enoch, Moses reports thai "Ik.* w.r. 
with God "; tl bat he plei 

God M : and the author of the book of the k * Wisdom 
of Solomon" gives him tins cha "He I 

made ]»<-l Tret." 

sanctified, o] short time, fulfilled 

a long time; for his soul pleased the Lord; ti 
fore hasted he to y from am 

wicked." To walk with God, is to set God alw 
before as, and to act as those that are always he 
His eye. It is to live a life of communion with ( I 
It is to comply with His will, to concur with His 
signs, and to be worke ther with Him. And 

to please God, is to be in principle and ; •■, in 

heart and life, all that He requires. All sis 
pleasing to God, it is the abominable thing that .he 
hateth. And how a man can please God, without a 
complete deliverance from that evil which the Lord 
abliorreth, is too problematical for my solution. 

A similar testimony is borne by Moses to the char- 
acter of another illustrious patriarch. M Xoah was 
a just man, and perfect in his generation, and Xoah 



54 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

walked with God." And the honorable mention 
made of him in other parts of the lively oracles, 
serves as illustrations of the Mosaic record. Ezekiel 
associates him with Daniel, and Job, whose prayers 
prevailed with God. The Apostle Peter styles 
Noah, "a preacher of righteousness"; and the 
author of the epistle to the Hebrews denominates 
him, " an heir of the righteousness which is by faith." 
And though Noah, in the decline of life, either 
through inexperience of the intoxicating quality of 
the expressed juice of the grape, or through un- 
watchfulness, was once drunken with wine; yet, 
when it is recollected that between the period when 
the divinely inspired historian described him as per- 
fect in his generation, and the circumstance above 
referred to, a century had elapsed, it may be con- 
ceived possible, that a great moral change might 
have taken place in his character. As we have, 
however, no evidence on which we can found an 
opinion that Noah ever after repeated the act; and 
as God immediately endowed him with the spirit of 
prophecy, by which he was empowered, with critical 
exactness, to foretell the widely different fortunes 
of his children's posterity, candor should teach us f<> 
suspend our judgments as to the quantum of moral 
blame that attached to this venerable man for this 
solitary offence. 

Concerning Job, also, it is said that he was "a 
perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, 
and escheweth evil " ; and his deeply devotional, 
and ever memorable testimony concerning his 



IT IS ATTAINABLE IN THIS LIFE. 55 

Redeemer, affords the most convincing evidence 
that though he never bore the Christian name, yet 
he inherited the Christian temper ; and to evince 
how far this singular man, of whom it is said that 
there was " none like him in all the earth," was 
saved from the sin of murmuring, even when over- 
whelmed by the waves and billows of affliction, it 
is asserted, " In all this " — this total loss of his 
property, this sudden bereavement of his children, 
Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly." It has 
been said, indeed, that Job subsequently manifested 
another spirit when he "opened his mouth, and 
cursed his day." But this can only prove that the 
highest state of personal piety may be forfeited; 
that perfection is no absolute guardian against sin ; 
that "invincible perseverance in holiness belongs to 
a supernatural state " ; and that he who most assur- 
edly standeth, is imperatively required to take heed 
lest he fall. That a great change must have taken 
place in Job, from a state of perfect submission and 
ardent gratitude, to that of deep mental agony and 
loud lamentation, is too obvious to be denied. And 
hence Mr. Scott observes that "unless we bring 
Job's inward trials into the account, during which 
we may conclude that he was deprived of all com- 
fortable sense of God's favor, and filled with a dread 
of his wrath; we shall not readily apprehend the 
reason of the change that took place in his conduct, 
from the entire resignation manifested in the preced- 
ing chapters, to the impatience which appears here, 
and in some of the subsequent parts of this book." 






66 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

Many other individuals are set before us in the 
Scriptures who, though not expressly denominated 
perfect, are yet represented as finished characters ; 
faultless, and irreprehensible in the sight of God. 
Abraham was "strong in faith, giving glory to 
God"; and he was "called the friend of 60(1/' 
Caleb "followed God fully." Nathanael was an 
Israelite indeed, in whom was no guile. Stephen 
was "a man full of faith, and of the Holy Ghost" ; 
and he gave a most glorious proof of it, by praying 
for his most unprincipled and inhuman murde: 
" Lord lay not this sin to their charge." " Barnabas 
was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost, and of 
faith." Zacharias, and Elizabeth, were " both righte- 
ous before God, walking in all the commandments 
and ordinances of the Lord blameless." The Romans, 
to whom St. Paul wrote, were "dead indeed unto 
sin — made free from sin — and had the body of sin 
destroyed that henceforth they might not serve sin." 
St. Peter declared concerning the believers of his 
day, that they had "purified their souls by obeying 
the truth" ; and had "escaped the corruption that 
is in the world." And St. John said of himself and his 
Christian brethren, "as he (Christ) is, so are we in 
this world." Hence we infer, that 

" Heav'n waits not the last moment: owns her friends 
On this side death; and points them out to men. 
A lecture, silent, but of sovereign power." 

A meetness for the inheritance of the saints in light, 
has no necessary connection with the period of our 
dissolution. Grace owes no efficacy to natural evih 



IT IS ATTAINABLE IN THIS LIFE. 57 

Man's final hour furnishes no weapon for the de- 
struction of the works of the devil. But where sin 
hath abounded, grace doth much more abound ; 
" that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might 
grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life, 
by Jesus Christ our Lord." 



CHAPTER IV. 

Testimonies of Divers Authors, Virtual- 
ly Confirming the Doctrine of 
Christian Perfection. 

He that hath the love that is in Christ, let him 
keep the commandments of Christ. Who can de- 
clare the bond of the love of God? Who is suffi- 
cient worthily to express the magnificence of its 
beauty? The height to which love exalts us can- 
not be spoken. Love unites us to God. Love 
covereth a multitude of sins. Love is long-suffer- 
ing, j'ea, beareth all things. There is nothing mean 
in love, there is nothing haughty. Love lias no 
schism, is not seditious. Love does all things in 
unity. By love were all the elect of God made per- 
fect. Without love, nothing is acceptable to God. 
Ye see, beloved, how great and wonderful a thing 
love is, and that no words can declare its perfection. 
Who then is sufficient to be found therein ? Who 
but they whom God vouchsafes to teach it. Let us, 
therefore, beseech Him that we may be worthy there- 
of, that we may live in love, unblamable, without 
respect of persons. All the generations from Adam 
unto this day are passed away ; but those who 
58 



TESTIMONIES CONFIRMING THE DOCTRINE. 59 

were made perfect in love are in the region of the 
just, and shall appear in glory at the visitation of 
the kingdom of Christ. — St. Clement's Epistle to the 
Corinthians. 

Nothing is better than peace, whereby all war is 
destroyed, both of things in heaven and things on 
earth. Nothing of this is hid from you, if ye have 
perfect faith in Jesus Christ, and love, which are 
the beginning and the end of life ; faith is the be- 
ginning, love the end ; and both being joined in one 
are of God. All other things pertaining to perfect 
holiness follow. For no man that hath faith sinneth, 
and none that hath love hateth any man. — St. Ig- 
natius's Epistle to the Ephesians. 

As iron or lead or gold or silver, when cast into 
the fire is freed from that hard consistency which is 
natural to it, being changed into softness, and so 
long as it continues in the fire, is still dissolved from 
its native hardness — after the same manner the 
soul that has renounced the world, and fixed its de- 
sires only upon the Lord, and received that heavenly 
fire of the Godhead, and of the love of the Spirit, is 
disentangled from all love of the world, and set free 
from all the corruption of the affections ; it turns 
all things out of itself, and is changed from the 
hardness of sin, and melted down in a fervent and 
unspeakable love for that heavenly Bridegroom 
alone, whom it has received. For when the soul 
is thoroughly cleansed from all its corrupt affections, 
and is united by an ineffable communion to the 
Spirit, the Comforter, and is thoroughly mixed with 



60 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION, 

the Spirit, and is become spirit itself, then it is all 
light, all eye, all' spirit, all- joy, all rest, all gladi 
all love, all bowels, airgoodness and clemency. As 
the stone in the bottom of the sea is everywhere 
surrounded by water, so are these everywhere 
drenched with the Holy Spirit, and made like unto 
Christ Himself, possessing unalterable within them- 
selves the virtues of the power of the Spirit, being 
blameless within and without, and spotless and pure ; 
for being brought to perfection by the Spirit, how 
is it possible that they should outwardly produce 
the fruits of sin? Sin is rooted out by the coming 
of the Holy Spirit, and man receives the origi- 
nal formation of Adam in his purity. Through the 
power of the Spirit, he comes up to the first Ad 
yea, is made greater than he. — The Homilie* 
Macarms. 

What then is that " perfect will of God " to which 
the j apostle calls and exhorts everyone of us to at- 
tain? It is perfect purity from sin, freedom from 
all shameful passions, and the assumption of perfect 
virtue, that is, the purification of the heart by the 
plenary and experimental communion of the perfect 
and divine Spirit. To those. who say that it is im- 
possible to attain to -perfection and the final and 
complete subjugation, of the passions, or to acquire 
a full participation /of the good Spirit, we. must op- 
pose the testimony of the divine Scriptures, and 
prove to them that they are ignorant, and speak 
both falsely and presumptuously. — Macarivk on . 
Christian Perfection. 



TESTIMONIES CONFIRMING THE DOCTRINE. 61 

The end of the gospel is life and perfection, it is 
a divine nature, it is a God-like frame and disposi- 
tion of spirit, it is to make us partakers of the image 
of God in righteousness and true holiness ; grace 
is holiness militant; holiness encumbered with 
many enemies and difficulties, which it still fights 
against, and manfully quits itself of ; and glory is 
nothing but holiness triumphant, holiness with a 
palm of victory in her hand, and a crown upon her 
head, God Himself cannot make me happy, if He be 
only without me, unless He give a participation of 
Himself and His own likeness unto my soul. I 
mean by holiness, nothing else but God stamped and 
printed on my soul. True holiness is always breath- 
ing upwards, and fluttering towards heaven, striving 
to embosom itself with God ; and it will at last un- 
doubtedly be conjoined with Him ; no dismal shades 
of darkness can possibly stop it in its course. We 
do but deceive ourselves with names ; hell is noth- 
ing but the orb of sin and wickedness, or else that 
hemisphere of darkness in which all evil moves ; 
and heaven is the opposite hemisphere of light, the 
bright orb of truth, holiness, and goodness ; and 
we actually in this life instate ourselves in the pos- 
session of one or other of them. There be some 
that dishearten us in our spiritual warfare, and 
would make us let our weapons fall out of our 
hands, by working in us a despair of victory. There 
be some evil spies that weaken the hands and hearts 
of the children of Israel, and bring an ill report 
upon that land that we are to conquer, telling of 



62 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

nothing but strange giants, the sons of Anak there 
that we shall never be able to overcome. The Ain- 
alekites, say they, dwell in the South ; the Hittites, 
Jebusites, Amorites, in the mountains, and the 
Canaanites by the sea coast ; — huge armies of tall 
invincible lusts. We shall never be able to go 
against them, we shall never be able to prevail 
against our corruptions. Hearken not unto them, 
I beseech you, but hear what Caleb and Joshua say: 
"Let us go up at once and possess it. tor we are 
able to overcome them;" not by our own strength, 
but by the power of the Lord of Hosts. There are 
indeed sons of Anak there, there are mighty giant- 
like lusts, that we are to grapple with ; yea there 
are principalities and powers too, that we are to op- 
pose ; but the great Michael, the captain of the Lord's 
host is with us, he commands in chief for us, and we 
need not be dismayed. " Understand th< this 

day, that the Lokd thy God is he which goeth before 
thee; as a consuming fire, he shall destroy these 
enemies, and bring them down before thy face." If 
thou wilt be faithful to him, and put thy trust in Him, 
"As the fire consumeth the stubble, and as thy 
flame burnetii up the chaff," so will lie destroy the 
lusts in thee ; " their root shall be as rottenness, 
and their blossom shall go up as the dust." — Cttd- 
worth's Sermon before The House of Coram 

For true and saving faith reneweth the whole 
man, purifieth the spirit, sanctifieth the soul, maketh 
clean the heart. It knitteth this when cleansed, 
and uniteth it fast to God ; and the heart when it 



TESTIMONIES CONFIRMING THE DOCTRINE. 63 

is thus purged and set free from earthly desires, 
then soareth easily heavenwards. — Arndfs True 
Christianity. 

The sincere choice of heaven as our final happi- 
ness, will make us aspire to the greatest height of 
holiness we are capable of in the present state. For 
the end has always a powerful virtue to transform 
a man into its likeness ; and heaven is a state of 
perfect conformity to the Holy God. This differ- 
ence is observable between the understanding and 
the will in their operations ; the understanding in 
forming conceptions of things, draws the object to 
itself. The will is drawn by the object it chooses, 
and is always fashioning and framing the soul into 
an entire conformity to it. Thus, carnal objects, 
when propounded as the end of a man, secretly im- 
print on him their likeness ; his thoughts, affections, 
and whole conversation are carnal. As the Psalmist 
speaks of the worshippers of idols, they that make 
them are like unto them, so is every one that trust- 
eth in them. Whatever we adore and esteem, we 
are changed into its image. Idolaters are as stupid 
and senseless as the idols to which they pay homage. 
Thus when God is chosen as our supreme Good and 
our last end, by conversing with Him, the image of 
His glorious holiness is derived on the soul, and it 
becomes Godly ; the heart is drawn by His attractive 
excellencies, and the life directed to Him. In short, 
no man designs and longs for a thing as his happi- 
ness, but will use all diligence to gain the present 
and full possession of it. Therefore it cannot be 



64 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

imagined that any person sincerely propounds the 
enjoyment of heaven as his end, but love will make 
him fervent and industrious to be as heavenly as 
possible here. He will strive, by blessed and glori- 
ous gradations, to ascend to the perfection of his 
aims and desires ; to be as holy as God is holy, in 
all manner of conversation, to be as pure as Christ 
is pure. We have an admirable instance of this in 
St. Paul, Phil. iii. 13,14. Jlis progress was great, 
yet that did not make him slack in the prosecution 
of his end. lie labored to attain the precedent of 
our Saviour, to feel the power of his death and life, 
to apprehend Christ entirely and perfectly as Christ 
had apprehended him. He was very diligent to im- 
prove the divine image in his heart and life. — Dr. 
Bates on the Four Laxt Things* 

That God with whom "believers" have fellow- 
ship as their God, is their exceeding joy, the God of 
the joy of their exultation, Psalm xliii. 4. Nothing 
exceeds this joy in efficacy, for it penetrates into 
the inmost soul, and is alone sufficient to sweeten 
the most grievous of all afflictions, let them be ever 
so bitter, and easily dispel the greatest anguish of 
soul; so that the faithful martyrs of Christ, who had 
tasted the sweetness of it, have gone, with joy and 
songs of praise to the most cruel torments, as to the 
most sumptuous feasts. Nothing is more pure. It 
does not discompose the mind, unless in a salutary, 
wise, and holy manner; that having no command of 
itself, but being full of God, and on the very con- 
fines of heaven, it both savors and speaks above the 



TESTIMONIES CONFIRMING THE DOCTRINE. 65 

capacity of a man ; the more plentifully one has 
drunk of this spiritual nectar, though he may appear 
delirious to others, who are unacquainted with those 
delights, he is the more pure, and wise, and happy. 
Nothing, in fine, is more constant; "everlasting joy 
upon their heads." " Your heart shall rejoice, and 
your joy no man taketh from you." If it is not 
constant as to the second effects, or after-acts, as 
they are called, yet it is so at least, as to the founda- 
tion and first act. For, though God, in this life, ac- 
cording to His infinite wisdom, mixes the communi- 
cation of His sweetness with much bitterness, yet 
believers have that in them, which proves the unex- 
hausted fountain of a joy springing forth at times, 
and of a delight that is afterwards to continue 
flowing forever. Nor does God at all times deal 
out this joy with a sparing hand ; He sometimes 
bestows it in such plenty on his people, that they are 
almost made to own themselves unable to bear such 
heavenly delight on earth, and to say with Ephrem 
Syrus, Lord, withdraw Thyself a little, lest the 
brittle vial of my heart should burst by the rays of 
Thy favor darting too strongly. If God does so 
great things for his people in the prison, what will 
He not do in the palace ? If the first fruits are so 
plentiful, how abundant will the harvest be? — Dr. 
Witsins on the Economy of the Covenants. 

The love of Christ in the soul takes the very 
nails that fastened him to the cross, and crucifies 
the soul to the world and to sin. Love is strong as 
death, particularly in this. The strongest and liveli- 



66 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

est body, when death seizes it, must yield, and so 
becomes motionless, though it was so vigorous 
before. And the soul that is most active and 
unwearied in sin, when this love seizes it, is killed 
to sin; and as death separates a man from his 
dearest friends and society, this love breaks all 
ties and friendship with sin. Generally, as Plato 
hath it, love takes away one's living in himself 
and transfers it into the party loved; but the divine 
love of Christ doth it in the truest and hig] 
manner. — Dr. Leighton 9 * I nt on 1 I hap. 

ii. v. 24. 

We must turn from all OUT evil ways, leaving no 
sin unmortified; that's one measure of perfection; 
it is a perfect conversion. We must have cliai 
that's another perfection; it is a perfect grace. We 
must be ready to part with all, for conscience salve, 
and to die for Christ; that's perfect obedience, and 
the most perfect love. We must conform to the 
divine will in doing and suffering; that's perfect 
patience; we must live in all holy conversation and 
godliness; that's a perfect state. AVe must be go- 
ing forward, and growing in godliness, that so we 
may be perfect men in Christ Jesus. And Ave must 
persevere unto the end ; that's perfection, and the 
crown of all the rest. If anything less than this 
were intended, it cannot be told how the gospel 
should be a holy institution, or that God should re- 
quire of us to live a holy life ; but if anything more 
than this were intended, it is impossible but all man- 
kind should perish. Like to this is Toto corde, lov- 



TESTIMONIES CONFIRMING THE DOCTRINE. 67 

ing and serving God with all our heart, and with all 
our strength. That this is possible, is folly to deny. 
For he that saith he cannot do a thing with all his 
strength, that is, that he cannot do what he can do, 
knows not what he says; and yet to do this is the 
highest measure and sublimity of perfection, and of 
keeping the commandments. — Dr. Jer. Taylor. 

The spirit lusts against the flesh, and struggles 
with it in the soul, as Jacob did with Esau, until he 
had cast him out ; the seed of God wars continually 
against the seed of the serpent, raging and restless, 
like Jehu ; shooting, and stabbing, and strangling 
all he meets with, till none at all remain of the 
family of Ahab, who had formerly been his master. 
Oh ! how does the devout soul long to have Christ's 
victory carried on in itself, to have Christ going on 
in him, conquering and to conquer, till at length 
the very last enemy be subdued, that the prince of 
peace may ride triumphantly through all the regions 
of his heart, and life, and not so much as a dog 
move his tongue against him. The godly soul puts 
itself under the banner of Christ, fights under the 
conduct of the Angel of God's presence, and so 
marches up undauntedly against the children of 
Anak, those earthly loves, and sensual affections, 
which are indeed taller and stronger than all other 
enemies that encounter it in this wilderness-state; 
and the gracious God is not wanting to such endea- 
vors; he "remembereth his promise, helpeth his 
servants," even that promise, Isa. xl. 31, that "thej^ 
that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." 



68 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

A true Israelite, impregnated with this noble prin- 
ciple, is not like those slothful Israelites who were 
content with what they had got of the holy land, 
and either could not, or cared not, to enlarge their 
border; but he makes war upon the remainder of 
the Canaanites, and is never at rest till lie h; 
with Sarah, cast out the bond-woman, and her son 
too. You ma}' see an emblem of such a soul in 
Moses, holding up his hands all 1 lie day long, till 
Amalek was quite discomfited. A godly man 
reckons that the image of God is the glory and orna- 
ment of the soul ; it is the lustre and brightness and 
beauty of the soul, as the soul is of the body. Holi- 
ness is not only the duty, but the highest honor and 
dignity of which any created nature is capable; and 
therefore the soul which has its sen- 1 to 

discern good and evil pursues after it, as after its 
full and proper perfection. — Samuel Sim 
"Discovery of True Religion" writU n ah 
1666. 

This it is to be born of God, when we have a tem- 
per and mind so entirely devoted to purity and holi- 
ness that it may be said of us in a just sense, tliat 
we cannot commit sin. When holi such a 

habit in our minds, so directs and forms our designs, 
as covetousness and ambition direct and govern 
the actions of such men as are governed by no other 
principles, then we are alive in God and living 
members of the mystical body of His Son J< 
Christ. When by an inward principle of holiness 
we stand so disposed to all degrees of virtue, 



■ 



TESTIMONIES CONFIRMING THE DOCTRINE. 69 

as the ambitious man stands disposed to all steps of 
greatness ; when we hate and avoid all kinds of 
sins, as the covetous man hates and avoids all sorts 
of loss and expense ; then are we such sons of God 
as cannot commit sin. — William Laiv's Practical 
Treatise on Christian Perfection. 

If love be sincere, it is accepted as the fulfilling 
of the law. Surely we serve a good master, that 
hath summed up all our duty in one word, and that 
a short word, and a sweet word, love, the beauty 
and harmony of the universe. Loving and being 
loved is all the pleasure, joy, and happiness of an 
intelligent being. God is love, and love is His image 
upon the soul ; where it is, the soul is well moulded, 
and the heart fitted for every good work. Love is 
a living, active principle of obedience to the whole 
law. The whole law is written in the heart, if the 
law of love be there. — Henry's Notes on Rom. xiii. 10. 

Love and desire are so essential to the soul, that 
she cannot put them off but change them. She is 
as Psellus calls her, an immaterial and incorporeal 
fire, an unextinguishable activity, and will catch at 
some object or other. And therefore if she has 
ceased to love the world, and the lusts of her own 
body, she will certainly love the body of Christ, the 
church, and study how to help them and advantage 
them. Nor can she stop here, but this pure and 
quick flame mounts upwards and is reflected again 
downwards, and vibrates every way, reaching at all 
objects in heaven and in earth, as natural fire enters 
all combustible matter. And therefore in her pure 



70 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

and ardent speculations of the Godhead, and His 
unlimited goodness, and also her observations of the 
capacity of the whole creation of receiving g 
both from Him and from one another, she overflows 
those narrow bounds of brotherly love, and spreads 
out into that ineffably ample and transcendently 
divine grace and virtue, universal charity, which is 
the highest accomplishment the soul of man is cap- 
able of, either in this life or that which is to come; 
and thus at last she becoi a her Father 

which is in heaven is perfect. "Tohinithi 
cometh will I » sit with me in my throne/ 1 

When, I beseech you, is this overcoming? [s not 
victory won in the same liuld the battle is fought? 
And is not our warfare here upon this eai 
Wherefore it is plain our victory must 1» also. 

It is in this life we are commanded to kill and . 
the old man within us, with all his deceivable In 
who, while he is alive, will be always plotting and 
inventing some evil device or other, to undermine 
and root the kingdom of Christ out of our hea 
and therefore we must be wholly the one or wholly 
the other. We cannot serve Christ and Belial, light 
and darkness cannot abide together. — Dr. Henry 
More on the Grand Mystery of Q-odlin 

It is not only a conscience purged from the guilt 
of sin by the blood of Christ, but a soul washed 1 
from the defiling power and taint of sin, by the 
sanctifying Spirit that is necessary to make us meet 
for the heavenly inheritance. This is that pari; 
tion which I now chiefly intend ; " Blessed are the 



TESTIMONIES CONFIRMING THE DOCTRINE. 71 

pure in heart, for they shall see God." God does 
not only purify us from every sin, in order to pre- 
pare us for heaven, " but He is ever loosening and 
weaning our hearts from all those lawful things in 
this life, which are not to be enjoyed in heaven." — 
Dr. Watts on the World to Come. 

Our holiness must be proportionable to Christ in 
the parts of it. It must be universal ; the whole 
man must be spiritually formed and organized to 
the pattern of Christ. Every part muse have its 
measure, and every joint its supply. Holiness is a 
resurrection ; all that which fell must be restored, 
and it is a generation ; all the parts of him that be- 
getteth must be fashioned. " The God of peace 
sanctify you wholly, and I pray God, that }"our 
whole spirit, soul, and body, may be preserved 
blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus 
Christ." — Dr. Reynold's Sermon on the Life of 
Christ. 

The judgment which the Sovereign Judge shall 
make concerning us, will have its foundation in the 
degree of perfection, intellectual and moral, which 
we shall acquire upon earth. — Bonnet's Conjectures 
on the Nature of Future Happiness. 

Thou must go a step further, to get sin mortified, 
to get it utterly cast out, slain, and killed, not to 
suffer it to live with thee ; thou must do with such 
a pollution of thy spirit as thou doest with thy ut- 
ter enemy, whom thou pursuest to death, and wilt 
have the law upon him, and wilt be content with 
nothing but his life. So when thou hast found out 



12 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

thy sin, then go this step further, and cast it out 
before the Lord, and cry against it, and say that it 
is His enemy and thy enemy and an enemy to His 
grace ; it Lath sought thy life, a?xl thou wilt have 
the life of it, before thou hast done : and give not 
over till thou gettest it utterly cast out, and hast 
made an utter separation I d thy soul and it; 

so that if there should come a temptation to it again, 
if there should be pleasure ted on the one 

hand and threatenings on the other, yet then thou 
mightest be able to say. Rather anything than this 
sin, than this lust; it is my gr< , that 

hath done me thus much mischief; so that my soul 
not only loathes it, but 1 will not suffer ii to live in 
me. This is what we ought to do, if Ave would 
cleanse our spirits. — J>r. John Presto 
the Knowledge of tin' Divi\ >ce. 

A state of holiness is nothing else but the habitu- 
al and predominant devotion and dedication of soul 
and body and life and all that we have to God : an 
esteeming and loving and serving and seeking Him, 
before all the prosperity of the flesh; making His 
favor and everlasting happiness in heaven our i 
and Jesus Christ our way, and referring all thi 
in the world unto that end, and making this the 
scope, design, and business of our lives. It ifi 
turning from a deceitful world to God, and prefer- 
ring the Creator before the creature, and heaven be- 
fore earth, and eternity before an inch of time, and 
our souls before our corruptible bodies, and the 
authority and laws of God, the universal Governor 



TESTIMONIES CONFIRMING THE DOCTRINE. 73 

of the world, before the word or will of any man 
how great soever, and a subjecting our sensitive 
faculties to our reason, and advancing this reason by 
divine Revelation, and living by faith and not by 
sight. When the soul is risen to this habitual, pre- 
dominant love of God and holiness as such, then is 
the law written in the heart ; and this love is the 
virtual fulfilling of all the law ; and I think it is 
this spirit of adoption and love which is called " the 
divine nature within us," as it inclineth us to love 
God and holiness for itself, as nature is inclined to 
self-love and to food and to other necessaries. — 
Baxter's Practical Works, vol. I. jJJJ- 7-152, 153. 

How great is the pleasure that arises from self- 
government ! When that governs in us which 
should govern, and that is subject and obeys which 
should obey; when a man's mind it completely 
furnished with directive practical principles, and 
his heart is so framed that it is capable of being 
prescribed to, is patient of restraints and direction, 
easily obeys the reign, and follows the ducture of an 
enlightened and well-instructed mind ; when the 
order is maintained between the superior faculties 
and the inferior, and there are no contentious mur- 
murs of ungovernable appetites and passions against 
the law of the mind. It is true, that where this 
holy rectitude doth but in a degree take place, there 
will be many conflicts, but those conflicts are in or- 
der to victory ; and how joyful and glorious is the 
triumph upon that victory ! when the soul enters 
upon its thanksgiving song, " I thank God through 



74 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

Jesus Christ our Lord ! n How happy a state is 
that wherein at sometimes it is here attained, when 
there are no tumults within ! The wicked, which 
is the very import of their name, are as a troubled 
sea, that cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and 
dirt. Here is no governing principle in any pov 
no sceptre, no trident to check and allay the rage of 
these waters. But when His power goeth forth in 
the soul, whose very word winds and hey, 

how peaceful and pleasant a calm doth ensue I Now 
a man is restored to himself, and is again in his 
right mind. He is truly now said to enjoy him- 

and upon the best terms : that is, lie enjoys himself 
in and under God. — John Ii I>> lighting in 

God. 

Is not the love of God, I mean the supreme love 
of God, precisely what is meant by holiness? 1 
not only an evidence of it, not only a source of it, 
not only an important branch, but the sum and per- 
fection of it. For what is sin in the heart, of which 
all evil actions are but the fruits and expr< 
and from which they derive their malignity and i 
trariety to the divine will? Is it not the love and 
pursuit of inferior objects on their own account, and 
giving them that place in our affections which is 
due only to God? All sins, of whatever kind, may 
be easily reduced to this, and shown to be nothing 
else but the alienation and estrangement of our 
heart and affections from God, to whom alone they 
are due ; which, so far as it prevails, necessarily oc- 
casions a misapplication of every faculty of our 



TESTIMONIES CONFIRMING THE DOCTRINE. 75 

minds, and of every member of our bodies, and 
thus a rebellion of the whole man. But whoever 
loves God above all, and places his chief happiness 
and delight in Him, is truly holy ; not only will be 
so as to the effect, but really is so by the possession 
of this disposition. In proportion as this lcve is in- 
creased and strengthened, his sanctification is car- 
ried on ; and when it is complete and triumphant, 
entirely free from the mixture of any baser passion, 
he is perfect in holiness. — Dr. Wither spoon. 

The salvation which Christ purchased, and the 
gospel tenders to every creature, is a comprehension 
of the greatest blessings God can bestow ; a deliv- 
erance from the greatest evils that mankind can 
suffer. It contains all that can make the nature of 
man perfect, or his life happy ; and secures him 
from whatever can render his condition miserable. 
The blessings of it are inexpressible, and beyond 
imagination. " Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
neither hath it entered into the heart of man, the 
things which God hath -prepared for them that love 
Him." For, to be saved, as Christ came to save 
the world, is to have all our innumerable sins and 
transgressions forgiven and blotted out ; all those 
heavy loads of guilt, which oppressed our souls, 
perfectly removed from our minds. It is to be re- 
conciled to God, and restored to His favor, so that 
He will be no longer an angry, terrible, and re- 
vengeful God, but a most kind, compassionate, and 
tender-hearted Father. It is to be at peace with 
Him^ and with our consciences ; to have a title to 



76 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

His peculiar love, care, and protection,, all our d 
to be rescued from the bondage and dominion of 
sin, and the tyranny of the devil. It is to be ti 
lated from the power of darkness into the kingdom 
of our dear Lord; so that sin shall reign no loi 
in our mortal bodies, but we shall serve G din new- 
ness of spirit. It is to be placed in B of true 
freedom and liberty, to be no longer under the 
control of blind passions, and harried on by im- 
petuous lusts to do what <»ur condemns. It 
is to have a new principle of life infused into our 
souls, whereby we shall be enabled to live up to the 
perfection of our nature, and, in par- 
take of the divine. It is to have tie holy 
lodged in our hearts, whose comforting influe 
will ever cheer and refresh us , and by who* 
counsels we shall be always advised, directed, and 
governed. It is to be trai sformed into the in 
of God ; to belike Him in wisdom, righteousi 
and all other perfections of which man's nature 
capable. — Archbishop > k 

For this reason God requires our love, that it may 
be a living principle of obedience, and that being 
it might accelerate our happiness. For he whose 
love of God is but arrived to the degree of a reigning 
principle of obedience, so as that his obedience pro- 
ceeds more from his love than any other passion, 
doth already border on the heavenly state, and is 
within the confines of perfection. For as for the in- 
habitants of heaven they are all actuated by pure 
love, which makes their obedience pure and perfect. 



TESTIMONIES CONFIRMING THE DOCTRINE. 77 

They see God face to face, and by their sight are all 
inflamed with love to Him ; and by their love are 
winged with everlasting vigor and readiness to serve 
Him. This is the happy state of these heaveuly 
lovers: and to this we are approaching with full 
speed, while we obey from a principle of love ; for 
love will carry us on with wind and tide from one 
degree of perfection to another, and whilst poor 
slavish souls that are actuated mainly by their fears 
are feign to tug at the oar, and yet creep on but 
slowly and by insensible degrees, we shall run for- 
ward with ease and speed, and get more ground in 
one stroke than they can in twenty. Whilst there- 
fore we are actuated in religion by the love of God, 
our souls are upon the wing to perfection, and in a 
swift tendency to the heavenly state ; we are already 
in the neighborhood of glorified saints and angels, 
and if we continue our course, shall soon be fit for 
their society and converse. This therefore is the 
great end and reason why God doth so importunate- 
ly claim our love ; because this, of all others, is the 
most perfective principle of our natures, and conse- 
quently the most conducive to our happiness. — John 
Scott, D. D. 

That it is a duty lying upon all men to strive 
after that which the Scripture c&lleth. perfection, and 
consequently to exercise themselves in such things 
which are proper to invest them with such a capa- 
city as we speak of, to qualify them for the high 
places in the world to come, is of easy demonstration 
and proof both from the Scripture and otherwise. 



78 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

Be you therefore perfect as your heavenly Father is 
perfect. It might be translated more emphatically, 
you shall therefore be perfect; for so the future 
tense in the indicative mood is many times used 
instead of the imperative, only with the greater 
seriousness and weight. As he that enjoineth or com- 
mandeth when lie would signify and express his 
authority to the height, lie doth not simply say unto 
him, that he would have him to do a tiling; do this 
or that, but he saith unto him you shall do it or 
you must do it. So here you shall be perfect as 
your Father which is in heaven is perfect ; as if he 
should say, I impose it upon you as a mailer of 
sovereign concernment, both unto me and to your- 
selves, that you give yourselves to the utmost, 
in striving to imitate the perfection of your heavenly 
Father, and to be as absolute in all things apper- 
taining unto you to do, as I le is in all things thai 
honorable and proper for so great a Ma I do. 

— John Goodwin on being filled with the { 

Love kindles love, as lire kindles lire, and there- 
fore God appears in this sacrament, as He did to 
Moses in the bush, all in flames of love, that those 
flames may warm our breasts, and () happy soul, 
that feels those flames warm and heat all that is 
within her ! When love takes possession of the 
soul, or rather when the love of God represented in 
this sacrament raises love in the holy soul, then the 
soul becomes the seat of wisdom, the tabernacle of 
holiness, the chamber of the celestial bridegroom, a 
spiritual heaven, a field which the Lord hath blessed, 



TESTIMONIES CONFIRMING TEE DOCTRINE. 79 

a spouse clearly beloved, a garden of pleasure, the 
marriage-house, a paradise of virtue, into which the 
Lord descends, not to find out the malefactor, and 
to discover his nakedness, but to betroth to Himself 
the beloved virgin, languishing with love, waiting 
for her beloved, and longing for the bridegroom's 
coming ; and where this divine love takes place, the 
love of the world expires. Surely the blood of the 
Holy Jesus cleanses us from all sins; it washes 
whiter than snow. Fullers-earth is not to be com- 
pared w;;h it. Though the sinner wash himself 
with nitre and take much soap, to purify his soul, 
yet that will not take away one spot ; still his ini- 
quity will be marked before God; but the blood of 
Christ will make him clean, so clean, that no wrinkle 
shall appear in him. One would think nothing 
could have been more filthy than some sinners have 
been, yet, upon their repentance, the blood of Christ 
hath so purified, so cleansed, so beautified their 
souls, that even angels have fallen in love with 
them. — HornecK's " Crucified Jesus" 

Heaven is but a state of the most perfect and con- 
summated love, and therefore the best thing we can 
practice upon earth is to tune our hearts to this 
divine strain ; to set them as high as we can, for 
surely the best preparation for love must be love 
itself. But whatever other qualifications are requi- 
site, a heart once truly touched with this divine 
passion, cannot long want them. Love will draw 
along after it all other virtues, will perfect and im- 
prove them, and will at least hide those faults of 



80 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

them which it cannot correct. For this is that uni- 
versal excellency which supplies the defects of other 
works, but which, if wanting, nothing else can sup- 
ply or compound for. Neither tongues nor pro- 
phecy nor knowledge nor faith nor alms nor i 
martyrdom itself signify anything without charity. 
The? heart is the sacrifice which God demands, and 
unless that be offered, the richest oblation will find 
no acceptance. Other nd graces, whether in- 

tellectual or moral, come indeed from heaven, but 
they often leave US upon earth. Love only i 
us up thither, and is able to unite us to God. By 
faith we live upon God, by obedience we liv< 
Him, but il is by love alone that we live in Him. 
And how pure and chaste must thai soul be thai is 
thoroughly purged of all erea; id in whom 

the love of God reigns absolute and unrival 
without any mixtura or competition. How secure 
must lie needs be from sin, when he has not that in 
him which may betray him to it ! The tempter may 
come, but he will find nothing in him to take I 
of; the world may spread round about him a 
poisonous breath, but it will not hurt him ; the 
very cleanness of his constitution will guard him 
from the infection. lie lias but one love at all in 
his heart, and that is for God; and how can he that 
loves nothing but God be tempted to transgress 
against Him, when he has nothing to separate him 
from Him, and all that is necessary, perhaps all that 
is possible, to unite him to Him ! What is there 
that should tempt such a man to sin ; and what 






TESTIMONIES COXFIRMIXG THE DOCTRIXE. 81 

temptation is there that he has not to incite him to 
all goodness ; and what a wonderful progress must 
he needs make in it ! Whither will not the entire 
love of God carry him ; and to what degrees of 
Christian perfection will he not aspire, under the 
conduct of so divine, so omnipotent, a principle ! — 
Norris on the Love of God. 

Various have been the disputes which, from St. 
Austin's days to the present time, have been agitated 
between several sects and denominations of Chris- 
tians, concerning perfection and the attainableness 
of it ; the chief ground of which I take to have been 
the supposition that human nature is not generally 
capable of rising above its present level. And 
therefore those who have formed the highest notions 
of perfection — have pretended most to it — have 
most strongly recommended it to others, and 
pleaded for the attainableness of it, have met with 
so little success ; but have generally been looked 
upon as no better than enthusiasts ; and their labors 
have either tended to make others such, or have 
been received with coldness and indifference, if not 
rejected with contempt. And indeed, while we sup- 
pose the present degeneracy of human nature to be 
invincible, we cannot form any notion of human 
perfection, but what necessarily includes a contra- 
diction in it ; or if we understand it in its just sense 
and full import, we must, by the supposition, give 
up the attainableness of it. So that all talk about 
perfection must, on this supposition, be absurd and 
idle, and all pretences to it must become airy and 



82 CHRISTIAN PERFECT1<> 

chimerical. But if, on the other hand, we suppose 
that nature shall, by degrees, be so refined by grace 
as at length to be fully recovered of its present dis- 
orders, then all difficulties immediately vanish, and 
we may easily apprehend what is meant by Christian 
perfection in its full extent; this being but another 
word for the recovery of the original pi n of 

our nature, to which, when it is arrived at its full 
height, I conceive it will be in no n inferior. 

That human nature shall in this life arrive at Midi a 
complete state of perfection as this, besides what 

lias been already observed may be further argued 
from the consequences of the opposite opinion. For 

I conceive that the doctrine of the impossibility 

attaining perfection and freedom from sin is injuri- 
ous to our Saviour Christ, dei from the power 
and virtue of His sacrifice and renders his miss 
as to the main end of it, in a great m 
tual. — Worihu 

Christian perfection docs not the hard- 

ships, the annoyance, and the constraints which 
some suppose. It requires that we be cordially de- 
voted to God; and in the eases in which such d< 
tion to God exists, everything done for Him will be 
easy. Those who are unreservedly devoted to ( < 
are always resigned, since they only desire what lie 
desires, and desire to do for Him all that lie wills. 
They sacrifice everything, and obtain a hundredfold 
in the sacrifice. Peace of conscience, liberty of 
heart, the sweetness of perfect self-resignation into 
the hands of God, the joy arising from a constant 



TESTIMONIES CONFIRMING THE DOCTRINE. 83 

perception of the increase of light in the mind ; in 
fine, deliverance from the fears and tyrannical de- 
sires of the world ; these form that hundredfold of 
blessedness which the children of God possess in the 
midst of their trials. They sacrifice themselves, but 
their sacrifice is to Him whom they love supremely. 
They suffer, but they are willing to suffer ; and they 
prefer suffering to all that futile joy of which they 
might partake. That which God demands of us is 
a choice of Himself, which shall no more be shared 
by any creature. It is a will yielded into His 
hands, which only desires what He desires, which 
only rejects what He rejects. When a man pos- 
sesses this disposition, everything is salutary ; and 
even when the mind occupies itself with recreations, 
these are changed into good works. Happy is the 
man who thus devotes himself to God ! — Fenelon on 
Christian Perfection. 

Hail, happy saints ! For your heaven is begun 
upon earth. You have already received the first 
fruits of the Spirit, and are patiently waiting till 
that blessed change come, when your harvest shall 
be complete. I see and admire you, though, alas ! 
at so great a distance from you. Your life, I know 
is hid with Christ in God. You have comforts, you 
have meat to eat which a sinful carnal world knows 
nothing of. Christ's yoke is now become easy to 
you, and His burden light ; you have passed 
through the pangs of the new birth, and now re- 
joice that Christ Jesus is formed in your hearts. 
You know what it is to dwell in Christ, and Christ 



84 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

in you. Like Jacob's ladder, although your bodies 
are on earth, yet your souls and hearts are in 
heaven ; and by your faith and constant recollec- 
tion, like the blessed angels, you do always behold 
the face of your Father which is in heaven. I n 
not then exhort you to press forward. Rather 1 will 
exhort you in patience to possess your souls; yet, 
a little while, and Jesus Christ will deliver you 
from the burden of the flesh, and an abundant 
entrance shall be ministered unto you into the i 
nal joy, etc. — Rev. Q-eo. Whitfield* 

The question is not, whether sonic do not sin, but 
whether the dedicated servants of God are under 
the obsolute necessity to sin. We believe thej 
not. There is a cloud of witnesses to prove that 
they are not. We ai rible of the frailtiea 

human nature. We know that man, by his own 
strength and in his own will, cannot obtain a vio- 
tory over sin ; neither can he obtain a victory o 
one individual sin; but as he is endued with the 
power of God to salvation, he experiences the truth 
of the answer made to the apostle: *• V 
sufficient for thee ; for my strength is made perfe< t 
in weakness." — JElisha Bates, X<>rtli America. 

It is the nature of all ruling passions to kindle a 
vehement flame in the soul. The passion of divine 
love, then, where it is predominant, must produce 
effects much more vehement than that which has 
the world for its object, Religion presents to us ob- 
jects infinitely more worthy of attention in them- 
selves, and more interesting to us, than all the world 



TESTIMONIES CONFIRMING THE DOCTRINE. 85 

has to offer. Can any application be too intense, 
any attention too profound, for the contemplation of 
a God eternal in His duration, wise in His designs, 
powerful in His works, just in His laws, and bound- 
less in His mercies. Can attention be too profound- 
ly fixed on the wonders He reveals, the sublime vir- 
tue He inculcates, the divine mysteries He discovers, 
the benevolent plans He unfolds, che purity of the 
laws He promulgates, and that prodigy of love He 
exhibits, that prodigy of " God manifest in the 
flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached 
unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received 
up into glory." Can contemplation be carried too 
far, when fixed on such objects as these? Can 
grief be too great, or tears too abundant, for the in- 
gratitude we have often evinced towards a God to 
whom we owe the existence we enjoy, the air we 
breathe, and the food we eat, all that we possess, 
and all that we hope for? Ought anything to ap- 
pear difficult when we are called 10 undertake it 
for a Jesus who gave Himself for us, took on Him 
mortal flesh that He might die in our stead, and 
now invites us to become united to Him in intimate 
friendship ; who though one with God, and in that 
union enjoys a perfect felicity, yet wishes us to be 
one with Him, that like Him, we may be one with 
God, and enjoy perfection of felicity and glory. 
May we all be animated with the sentiments I have 
described ! May the flames of divine love be 
kindled in every bosom ! May the celestial fire 
burn within us, refine all our impure desires and 



86 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

consume all our criminal passions ! And may these 
holy dispositions be the seal of that God whose na- 
ture is pure love; to whom be honor and glory for- 
ever. Amen. — Saurin on the Sublimity of D 






CHAPTER V. 

OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 

That objections should be raised against the 
doctrine of Christian perfection, can excite no sur- 
prise. To yield an implicit credence to the whole 
body of revealed truth, calls into requisition a 
greater degree of lowliness of mind, and docility of 
disposition, than the majority of nominal Christians 
usually possess. God's complaint concerning Eph- 
raim of old, is to a considerable extent, applicable 
to professors of modern times, " I have written unto 
him the great things of my law, but they were 
accounted as a strange thing." The disposition to 
cast contempt on the doctrines of godliness, and to 
ridicule what cannot be refuted, is a foul blot on 
the character of humanity, which is peculiar to no 
single age, nor restricted to any order of society. 
What portion of divine truth is there that has not 
been assailed by ignorant, prejudiced, or gainsaying 
people? Where is the plant which God's right 
hand hath planted that infidel hands have not in- 
sidiously sought to pluck up? How many enter 
the Christian armory, not to admire the celestial tem- 
per of its weapons, but for the sole purpose of 
blunting their edge, or tarnishing their lustre ! In 
87 



88 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

proportion as any doctrine strikes at the root of 
moral evil, and tends to the subversion and destruc- 
tion of the works of the devil, the greater the sacri- 
fices it demands, and the more numerous the inroads 
it makes on our depravity, the more decided will be 
the opposition, and the louder will be the complaints 
raised against it. Hence, Christian perfection has 
met with a host of assailants; even religious pro- 
fessors, not satisfied with railing at the doctrine, as 
being unsound and anti-Scriptural, have censured 
indiscriminately all its adherents. "The flaunting 
hypocrisy of the high-flown perfectionists," and the 
"proud boasters of absolul • t i < > 1 1 , * ' are epithets 

which have been employed to desi who, 

with pure conscience, have believed it possible 
be perfectly holy upon earth. They who are in love 
with their corruption, will never be at a loss for 
apologies for its existence. How easy it is to find 
pretexts for that which we desire to indulge in. Argu- 
ments are never wanting to the passions; some draw 
motives from piety, to violate piety itself, and have 
recourse to holy pretexts to authorize iniquitous de- 
sires. And nothing can be more soothing to a man 
who washes to get " settled on his lees," and to be 
" at ease in Zion," than the doctrine which describes 
death as the great deliverer from inbred sin. That 
individuals may be found who, from conscientious 
motives, oppose the doctrine of Christian perfection, 
I can easily conceive ; and for their sakes, we will 
examine the usual objections raised against it. 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 89 

I. It is assumed that there are no living wit- 
nesses to confirm the truth of this doctrine in their 
personal experience; and the inference deduced 
from this assumption is that it is not of God. 

It has been demanded, but certainly more in a 
tone of dictation than of docility, " Where do 
these perfect characters live?" We never knew 
any who professed to be perfect ; and were we to 
meet with such persons, we should consider " that 
they had mistaken something else for a perfection 
in holiness." In reply, I beg to say, that we ought 
not to judge of that which is possible by that which 
is existent. What God wills us to be, can never be 
inferred from what we are. Had perfection in holi- 
ness never been attained, no man from such a fact 
could frame a conclusive argument that it was unat- 
tainable. The doctrines of the gospel can receive 
no confirmation from human testimony ; they stand 
not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 

There are reasons sufficient to justify a man for 
omitting to declare what God hath done for his soul, 
to persons who will make his Christian experience 
matter for sarcasm or slander. He will not think 
it prudent to cast his pearls before swine, lest they 
trample them under their feet, and turn again and 
rend him. And while sentiments are sounded forth 
from our pulpits subversive of Christian holiness ; 
while ministers caution their hearers against it, with 
as much circumspection as if it were a high crime or 
misdemeanor to be perfect ; and while we are told 






90 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

from the press, that to profess to have attained to 
such a state as perfection is "the highest pride, the 
greatest deceit, the loudest lie, and the profanest 
blasphemy"; and that "every one who observes 
what is continually passing in his own mind, must 
be deeply convinced that in thought, word and deed, 
he is continually sinning against the blessed God"; 
can it awaken any surpri.se, that in certain sections 
of the church, where Buch opinions obtain credence, 
that Christian perfection is rarely sought after, and 
if in some solitary instances attained, that the sub- 
jects of it may be modestly deterred from making a 
public profession of its enjoyment. But because we 
cannot find within the limited range of our research 
any who love God with all their heart, shall we 
conclude that there are no such characters in e: 
ence? What God does lot those who are called and 
chosen and faithful, and who are diligently seeking 
good, may greatly surpass our conception; since He 
"is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we 
ask or think." To infer, therefore, that Christian 
perfection is a nullity, because we know no perfect 
characters, is in effect to make our knowledge the 
standard of all possibilities ; and to believe in the 
existence of nothing with which we have no per- 
sonal acquaintance. 

But though the opponents of this doctrine may 
have no acquaintance with any who profess to be 
perfect in holiness, yet God has even now many 
living witnesses of His power to save from all sin ; 
"persons who have been raised," to use the Ian- 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 91 

guage of Dr. Watts, " to glorious degrees of piety, 
virtue, and true holiness, in a very short time." 
And were ministers, instead of advocating the cause 
of imperfection, to display more fully before their 
people the beauties of holiness, the infinite efficacy 
of the blood of the atonement, and the necessity of 
a present and an entire salvation, the results would 
be incalculably beneficial, both to themselves, and 
those who hear them. , 

II. It is asserted that if believers were wholly 
delivered from sin, and cleansed from all filthiness 
of the flesh and of the spirit in this world, they 
would be restored to the state in which Adam was 
before his fall, and not only have sinless souls, but 
deathless bodies. 

But in answer to this, we say, that Christian per- 
fection and Adamic perfection are widely different. 
Adam's perfection was a perfection of nature, coe- 
val with his creation ; ours is a perfection of grace, 
grafted upon nature. The former was involuntary, 
and gratuitously bestowed,without the concurrence of 
the human will ; the latter is chosen, solicited, and 
obtained by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Adam's 
perfection was highly intellectual, as well as moral. 
He possessed a clearness of understanding, a correct- 
ness of judgment, a comprehension of mind, and 
a knowledge of God and His works, to which the 
most perfect Christian lays no claim ; since Chris- 
tian perfection is not a physical restoration of our 
lapsed powers to their pristine intellectual vigor, 



92 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

but a moral restoration to the image of God, which 
consists in righteousness and true holiness. Adam's 
perfection extended to the whole man ; his body was 
sound in all its parts, its organs had never been de- 
ranged by disease, nor its appetites debased by 
nor its limbs attacked by pain; and the mind was 
as free from moral pollution, as the body was from 
physical disease; but Christian perfection is not a 
universal perfection ; it leaves the body exposed tQ 
death, it neither prevents the encroachments of dis- 
order nor the attacks of pain. It saves the soul 
from sin, yet the effects of it will be sensibly felt, 
by the total enervation of its powers and the physi- 
cal debasement of its faculties. An eminent theo- 
logian of the present day lias said that "there 
hangs about the person of the most pure and per- 
fect Christian some mysterious necessity of dying; 
and that if it were possible for the sinful propene 
with all its workings and inclinations, to be conclu- 
sively taken away from him, that then he might 
bear his earthly tabernacle to heaven, and be 
down by direct translation amongst the company of 
the celestial." But in opposition to this docti 
we saj T , if natural death were entirely the result and 
consequence of every man's personal sin, there 
might be some ground for concluding that a salva- 
tion from all sin, would ensure a deliverance from 
death; but death is the penalty and desert of 
original sin ; and the effect of the divine decree on 
Adam and his posterity. Hence immense numbers 
are cut off out of the land of the living before the 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 93 

commission of actual sin ; and the holiest men upon 
earth must die, not merely because they have been 
sinners, but because they partake of a nature on 
which the original curse is entailed ; and because 
flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. 
And thus St. Paul declares, "By one man sin 
entered into the world, and death by sin ; and so 
death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." 
For "when Adam had actually tainted his soul with 
sin, and his body with mortality, sinfulness and 
mortality actually tainted all his offspring then in 
his loins." And to prove that the universality of 
the sinning, referred to by the apostle, does not 
mean the personal and practical sin of every indi- 
vidual, he adds, "death reigned from Adam to 
Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the 
similitude of Adam's transgressions," even over in- 
fants, who have never sinned as Adam did, in their 
own persons ; and over others who have not sinned 
like him against an express law. If the highest 
degree of personal sanctity of which the human 
spirit is capable could obviate the approach of 
death, it would follow, by an inevitable consequence, 
that in proportion as any man approximated towards 
that most desirable consummation, his body would 
gradually become invulnerable against disease ; and 
longevity be the never-failing concomitant of piety. 
" But there is one event to the righteous, and to the 
wicked; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that 
sacrificeth not." Eminent saints can no more claim 
an exemption from death than notorious sinners ; 



94 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

" we must needs die." Holiness deprives death of 
its terror, but not of its dominion ; it extracts its 
poison, but it cannot check its progress. Two indi- 
viduals have gone to heaven without passing 
through the gates of death; but we have no authen- 
tic records to prove that this high honor was con- 
ferred upon them in consequence of their singular 
and sinless sanctity. Even could such a position 
be admitted, it would not prove the necessary < 
tence of indwelling sin ; but it would furnish a 
most indisputable evidence that the destruction of 
sin has no essential connection with the dissolution 
of the body. 

III. Another objection brought forward agai 
Christian perfection is that it is opposed to the 
original sinfulness of the offspring of Christians, for 
it is said, "if the nature of original corruption is 
totally destroyed in parents, it is impossible but that 
their children must be also perfectly pure." 

But the answer to this is, piety is not of human 
but of divine generation. Parents propagate their 
species but not their endowments. If children 
must be " perfectly pure," because their parents are 
sanctified, then, on the same principle, the children 
of converted persons must be completely regener- 
ated. Salvation from sin is obtained by faith ; and 
faith is a personal act, and can no more be trans- 
mitted from father to son than a great linguist can 
propagate his learning with his species. Had our 
primitive parents retained their native purity, their 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 95 

posterity would have been as pure as themselves \ 
and for this plain reason, theirs was the rectitude of 
nature ; but by the forfeiture of their original birth- 
right, their nature became earthly, sensual, and 
devilish ; and they begat children in their own 
likeness, as degenerate and depraved as themselves ; 
and thus the course of corruption has run on 
through all generations. God has indeed reinstated 
thousands of individuals in His favor, and restored 
them to His image, in various parts and periods of 
the world ; but He has never cut off the entail of 
sin, never made holiness hereditary, and never per- 
mitted infants, by virtue of their birthright, to 
inherit the superinduced qualities of their parents. 

IV. It is further objected, against the doctrine 
of Christian perfection, that if inbred sin is destroyed, 
the believer's conflict is finished, and his warfare 
entirely completed. 

A certain writer, in a popular periodical says, " I 
feel anxious to ascertain the exact situation," which 
persons said to be sanctified, "are supposed to hold 
among the company of the faithful. Of course, 
while they remain in the body, they cannot belong 
to the church triumphant ; and I am quite sure they 
have no business in the church militant; for if they 
have no sin, their conflicts must necessarily be at an 
end." Can any of my readers think that such an 
objection deserves a serious answer ? If Christian- 
ity required us to contend only with flesh and blood ; 
if the weapons of our warfare were only to be 



96 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

directed against the enemy within, there might be 
some appearance of truth and reason in the objec- 
tion; but it should be recollected that, as Chris- 
tians; we have to wrestle against principalities, and 
powers ; against the rulers of the darkness of this 
world; against spiritual wickedness in high plai 
that our adversary, the devil, goeth about as a roar- 
ing lion, seeking whom he may devour; that this 
enemy sometimes comes in like a Hood, and at other 
times appears as an angel of light : that he lias his 
insidious wiles, and his fiery darts, by which the 
most perfect Christians may be attacked. And as 
the devil and his infernal legions so fiercely and so 
powerfully assailed the innocent soul of the 
Son of God, as to induce Him to say, "now is 
your hour and the powers of dark), :n it be 

doubted whether the attacks that they make on 
Christian believers now, may not produce a sharp 
arid a somewhat similar conflict ? To imagine that 
a Christian's warfare terminates when sin dies with- 
in him is not less absurd than to suppose that be- 
cause civil dissension has no existence in a bi 
city, that therefore the inhabitants may sit secure, 
though the enemy is at their gates, attacking their 
out-works, and striving by every possible effort to 
make a breach in the walls. Nor is this all; the 
world in which we sojourn is full of temptation. 
Everything here is hostile to our peace ; we breathe 
in a pestilential atmosphere ; and as the soundest 
and most vigorous constitution, without prudent 
precaution, will inhale the effluvia of contagion 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 97 

when surrounded by the dying and the dead, so the 
most matured Christian will inevitably become a 
prey to temptation, unless he maintain an incessant 
conflict with all the forms of evil that everywhere 
encompass him. 

V. It has also been urged that by setting the 
standard of Christian perfection so high, and insist- 
ing on the expediency of attaining it in this world, 
we not only " discourage those who are weak in the 
faith, but set the seal of eternal condemnation on 
multitudes, who have died rejoicing in Christ, and 
yet acknowledging their imperfections.' 7 

Popular as this objection is, I confess myself un- 
able to discern its pertinency. What is the nature 
of that discouragement which is supposed to arise 
from the proclamation of the fullness of Christian 
holiness? The object of every believer's faith is 
salvation or deliverance from sin ; and can it be 
conceived that the exercise of that faith will be dis- 
couraged by the cordial admission of the possibility 
of a perfection of that salvation for which his faith 
is excited? Will it discourage the Christian in the 
practice of self-denial, mortification of the flesh, and 
other appointed means, to be told that these duties, if 
faithfully performed, will issue- in the entire de- 
struction of the body of sin ? Whether is the more 
likely doctrine to discourage a sick man from the 
use of a particular medicine — that which instructs 
him that he must remain but partially cured in spite 
of all his efforts, or that which encourages him to 



98 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

expect an entire restoration to health? Let the 
common sense of any unprejudiced man determine 
which of the two opinions is the more calculated to 
induce discouragement in the mind of the believer, 
be he strong or weak in the faith. Suppose, for the 
sake of illustration, both to be exhibited in some 
such form as the following, from two different 
pulpits : — 

"My dear hearers," says one minister, " % I call 
upon you to exercise a lively faith in the promises 
of God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. I likev 
remind you that faith, without works, is dead; 
your faitli therefore must produce all internal and 
external fruits of righteousness; such especially as 
self-denial, the taking up the cross, and the putting 
off the old man with his deeds. And in order to 
encourage you in the practice of these highly 
Scriptural exercises, I exhort you to remember that 
whatever you may do, be as strong in faith as you 
may, take up the cross and mortify the deeds of the 
body as fully and frequently as possible, still you 
must be carnal, sold under sin; you cannot be free 
from fc a sinful nature, nor from a corrupt heart, nor 
from vain thoughts, nor from sinful words, nor from 
sinful actions ' ; s there are sad remains of indwell- 
ing sin and unsubdued corruption in the best and 
holiest of God's children and servants in this life.' 
And this most comfortable doctrine, I bring you for 
your great encouragement to run the race which is 
set before you." 

Now let us hear the other side of the question. 



OBJECTIONS AXSWERED. 99 

"It is your high privilege, brethren," says another 
minister, " to live by faith in the Son of God ; to 
be holy as God is holy, and perfect as your Father 
which is in heaven is perfect ; you may not yet 
have attained to this state of full salvation; and 
when you consider the corruptions of your hearts, 
and the obstacles thrown in your way, your expec- 
tations flag, and you are overwhelmed by doubts 
and fears. But be encouraged ; the Redeemer is 
mighty to save. He will thrust out the enemy from 
before thee. His blood cleanseth from all sin. 
Christ crucified works miracles. c The bleeding 
cross has sworn eternal grace.' Entirely abandon 
thyself to Jesus ; through the mysterious veil, that 
is to say His flesh, rush into the blood-besprinkled 
sanctuary, embrace the horns of the golden altar, 
lay all thy guilt on the head of the sin-atoning vic- 
tim, and thou shalt see the salvation of God; for 
all things are possible to him that believeth." 

Let the candid reader judge which of these ad- 
dresses is most likely to produce discouragement in 
those who are weak in the faith. 

The charge of setting " the seal of eternal con- 
demnation on multitudes," is too monstrously slan- 
derous to merit a serious refutation. That some 
have died rejoicing in Christ, and yet acknowled- 
ging their imperfections, I can readily believe. For 
if by imperfections, we understand the frailties of 
our nature, the infirmities of our flesh, or even the 
moral deviations and errors of our past life, who is 
there that ought not most humbly to acknowledge, 



100 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

and most deeply to deplore them? Though God 
forgive us, ought we ever to forgive ourselves? 
"I will establish my covenant with thee," said God 
to Israel, "and thou slialt know that I am the Lord: 
that thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and 
never open thy mouth any moi tuse of thy 

shame, when I am pacified toward thee, for all that 
thou hast done." None feel so much contusion for 
sin, nor such conscious shame for liavii ded 

God, as those who know that He is pacified towards 
them for all that they have done. Hence the senti- 
ment expressed in the following lines is beautifully 
apposite to the Christian's feelings: — 

" Pardon' d for all that I hare done 
My mouth as in the dust I hide, 
And glory give to <'<»d alone, 
My ( k)d forever pacified.' 1 

If, however, by imperfections be meant, that which 
alone can give any point to the objection, viz., in- 
bred corruptions, then I must be bold to question, 
whether in the mind of a dying man, the conscii 

ness of such inbred corruptions ever was 
with a Scriptural joy in Christ. It is a lamentable 
fact, that many cry, peace, peace, to whom God 
hath never spoken peace ; and this delusion, in some 
cases, is so deep and dreadful, as to extend its in- 
fluence even to the closing hours of life. This, 
however, has no weight in the argument ; and until 
something more tangible be offered than mere as- 
sertion, I must be pardoned for regarding this ob- 
jection as one of too hypothetical a nature to de- 
serve any further notice. 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 101 

VI. It is objected again, that if men can be raised 
to such a state of perfect holiness as to live without 
offending God, then that petition in the Lord's 
prayer, in which we ask God to " forgive us our 
trespasses," has neither use nor meaning. 

But because we are taught to pray that God may 
forgive us our trespasses, must we thence infer the 
necessity of trespassing, that w r e may receive the 
benefit of that petition ? Because a sovereign draws 
up a petition, which he directs repenting rebels to 
present to him, in order to propitiate his royal 
clemency, must w r e therefore conclude that the con- 
tinuance of the rebellion of those persons is neces- 
sary ? Because a man possesses an antidote for 
disease, is he therefore obliged to be disordered, that 
he may realize the sanative effect of his medicine ? 
In the Lord's prayer we are instructed to make our 
addresses to God in a style of plurality; and to 
say, not my Father, but "our Father," thereby 
intimating that God is the Father of all the families 
upon earth, and that we are all his offspring ; and 
considering that w^e are linked together in the bonds 
of brotherhood with sinners of all descriptions, for 
whom it is our duty to pray, we say, " forgive us 
our trespasses." Men of pre-eminent piety, when 
associating themselves with their sinful fellow crea- 
tures, have adopted modes of expression in their 
prayers, which, however proper in their collective 
capacity, would be quite unsuitable to themselves, 
in their individual character. Witness the suppli- 



102 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

cations and intercessions of Daniel, which occur in 
the ninth chapter of his prophecies, in which he says, 
"We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, 
and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, e 
by departing from thy precepts and from thy judg- 
ments; neither have we hearkened unto thy 
vants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our 
kings, our princes, and our fathers "Yea, all 

Israel have trai d thy law, even by departing, 

that they might not obey thy voice: th the 

curse is poured upon us." "All this evil is come 
upon us; j T et made we not our prayer before the 
Lord our God, that we ttiight turn from our iniquities 
and understand thy truth." Can it be concei 
thatthese confessions applied to Daniel individually'/ 

Had he neglected to make prayer before the Lord 

his God? Had lie no understanding of God's 
truth? Had lie done wickedly by departing from 
the divine precepts and judgments? And was the 
curse of Jehovah poured out upon him? T 
questions may be easily answered. And thus the 
patriarch Job made provision for his sible 

sinfulness, by offering "burnt offerings, according 
to the number of them all " ; for Job said, " It may 
be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in 
their hearts." 

Nor is this all, though a Christian whose heart 
is perfect towards God, may have no conscious! 
of any deviation from the law of God, yet knowing 
that there are involuntary errors to which he is lia- 
ble, and that the homage and obedience which he 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 103 

renders to God are such inadequate returns for the 
great love wherewith God hath loved him; and 
knowing also, that there is a higher bar and a 
more impartial tribunal than that of his own con- 
science, before which he must finally stand, and 
from which there can be no appeal ; he joins the 
assembly of the saints, and prays, " forgive us our 
trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against 
us." 

The Lord's prayer is not merely a form of words 
to be employed by us in our devotions, but a com- 
pendium of sacred doctrine to be recognized and 
believed by us; and of consequence to be influential 
on our practice. If it be inferred from the former 
part of the petition in question that it is impossible 
for us to live without trespassing against God, it 
may with equal propriety, be concluded from the 
latter part of it, that we cannot live without being 
trespassed against by men. But from such pre- 
mises we are not warranted to draw such a conclu- 
sion (Matt, xviii. 21-35). We are taught that our 
continuance in the divine favor, depends on our 
continued forgiveness of the injuries which we re- 
ceive from others. The servant, who though him- 
self forgiven the enormous sum of ten thousand 
talents, yet would not forgive his fellow-servant the 
trivial debt of a hundred pence, had the sentence of 
forgiveness reversed, and he was delivered to the 
tormentors till he should pay all that was due unto 
him. And when we pray, " forgive us our tres- 
passes, as ive forgive them that trespass against us" 



104 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

we make a solemn appeal to Him who searehetli all 
hearts, that we do forgive men their trespasses, and 
that therefore Ave expect our heavenly Father to 
forgive us our trespass 

VII. But the most Formidable objections) raised 

against the doctrine in question, and those which 
claim our most devoted attention, are founded on 
certain texts of Scripture, which are supposed to 
favor the necessar nee ol sin. 

These we will endeavor candidly to consider, for 
it must be conceded that the subjeel chiefly, if not 
entirely, hinges here. A sentiment may be true, 
that is not expressly taught in the Scriptures; hut 
that doctrine must he False which the Scriptures 
condemn. The Bible cannot fail to he consistent 
witli itself. It can speak no dissonant LangU 
If any discrepancy seems to appear in its doctri 
it must be apparent only, and not real. 

Let us then examine such passa ire usually 

brought to show the utter impossibility of being 
saved from sin in this world. The first occurs, 
1 Kings viii. 40: 2 Chron. vi. 36. And runs thus: 
"If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that 
sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them," i 
But the second clause in this verse is rather intend- 
ed to show that every man is liable to sin, than it is 
to express that every man will absolutely and 
necessarily commit sin. For if there be no man that 
sinneth not, in the most positive sense of the ex- 
pression, then why say if they sin against thee? A 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 105 

judicious commentator has observed on this verse, 
that the Hebrew has no mood to express words in 
the permissive or optative way ; but to express this 
sense, it uses the future tense, and hence he trans- 
lates this text, " Should they sin against thee, for 
there is no man that may not sin." No man who is 
impeccable, none infallible, none that is not liable 
to transgress. And a similar interpretation, Henry 
gives of the text. Solomon "supposeth," saith he, 
" that Israel would sin ; he knew them and himself 
and the nature of men too well to think this a 
foreign supposition"; " for there is no man that 
sinneth not, that doth not enough to justify God in 
the severest rebukes of His providence. Xo man 
but what is in danger of falling into gross sin, and 
will, if God leave him to himself." 

Psalm lix. 11, the Psalmist prays, " Slay them 
not, lest my people forget; scatter them by thy 
power, and bring them down, O Lord, our shield." 
And this text has been introduced to show, that 
because David desired that the enemies to his 
government might not be utterly destroyed, but 
scattered, and brought down, that so " God dealeth 
in respect of sin, 'tis brought down, but not wholly 
slain ; something is still left as a monument of the 
divine grace." I offer no argument to show the 
absurdity of such a comment on such a text. Those 
who believe that the man after God's own heart 
could be brought to advocate the cause of inbred 
sin, will have no great difficulty in believing any- 
thing. Chandler's translation of the above text is, 



106 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

" Wilt thou not cut them off ? Lest my people for- 
get thee, cause them to shake by thy power, and 
bring them down to destruction, O Lord our shield." 
The inference to be deduced from this is too obvious 
to need any illustration. 

Another text, usually produced as favoring the 
doctrine of indwelling sin, is, Prov. xx. 9, "Who 
can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure 
from my sin?" But it should be recollected, that 
an interrogation of this kind does not always imply 
an impossibility; instance Psalm xxiv. S; Prov. 
xxiii. 29. Even, however, admitting that no man 
can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure 
from my sin; suppose the prophetic advice, " Wash 
you, make you clean," has never been complied 
with; nor the apostolic counsel of " Cleanse your 
hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double- 
minded," followed; shall we conclude that God 
cannot make our hearts clean? Would not this be 
a direct contradiction to His own word'/ Hath lie 
not said, "I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and 
ye shall be clean; from all your filth iness and from 
all your idols will I cleanse you." And hence 
David prayed, "Purge me with hyssop, and 1 shall 
be clean ; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow " ; 
and, "Create in me a clean heart, () God, and renew 
a right spirit within me." Asaph declared, " Truly 
God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean 
heart." Christ said to His disciples, " Now -ye are 
clean through the word that I have spoken unto 
you," And though it would derogate from the 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 107 

divine glory, and be inconsistent with Christian 
humility, for any man to say, "I have made my 
heart clean, I am pure from my sin " ; yet, on the 
other hand, it would be insufferably arrogant, not 
to say presumptuously blasphemous, to take upon us 
to affirm that God has never cleansed a human 
heart nor made a soul pure from sin in this world ; 
and still more so, to say that He never will. 

From Proverbs, we turn to Ecclesiastes, where it 
is asserted, " For there is not • a just man upon 
earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not " (Eccles. 
vii. 20). But this text is not designed to prove 
what men may be by grace, but what they are by 
nature ; not what they are in their regenerated, but 
what they are in their fallen state. St. Paul said, 
(Romans iii. 10-12), " There is none righteous, no, 
not one — there is none that doeth good, no, not 
one " ; and the latter texts as fully prove that 
every man is unrighteous, and that every man is 
doing evil, as the former does that every man is un- 
just and sinful. And to show how general the 
opinion is that Solomon and Paul both meant the 
same thing, viz., the total and universal depravity 
of human nature, all the Bibles which I have met 
with, in which marginal notes are inserted, refer- 
ence is made from one text to the other, those 
edited by Calvinists not excepted. Another text, 
which has been thought to militate against the doc- 
trine now under consideration occurs Psalm cxix. 
96, " I have seen an end of all perfection, but thy 
commandment is exceeding broad." And because 



108 



CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 



David had seen an end of all perfection, must we 
therefore conclude that there is no such thins as 
perfection? Can it be conceived that lie meant, 
that a perfection in the love of God was impossible, 
when he himself declares, " the Lord will perfect 
that which concerneth me ? " "David/* to use the 
language of Henry, "in his time, bad seen Goliath, 
the strongest, overcome; Ahasel, the swiftest, over- 
taken; Ahitopel, the wisest, befooled; Absalom, 
the fairest, deformed; and had seen an end of the 
perfection of the creatine, both in respeel to suffi- 
ciency, it was scanty and defective; and in res] 
of continuance, for the glory of man is as the ll<> 
of the grass." Or as it has been paraphrased by 
another commentator, "I have observed that all 
human things, how complete soever they ma; 
such as wisdom and policy and riches and p<> 
are exceeding frail, and soon come to an end. * But 
thy commandment is exceeding broad'; the obser- 
vance of thy commandments, gives durable satis 
tion here; and the good effects of it will extend 
themselves to all eternity." And though God's 
commandment is exceeding broad, or large, both 
for extent and continuance, yet we must not infer 
that its requirements are impracticable ; since 
David not only longed for God's commandments, 
delighted in them, loved them more than gold, but 
delayed not to keep them. And this is confirmed 
by God's own testimony: "My servant David," 
said He, " kept my commandments, and followed 
me with all his heart, to do that only which was 



OBJECTIONS AK&WERED. 109 

right in my eyes " (1 Kings xiv. 8). And does not 
tlie congruity between the two clauses in the above 
passage justify this interpretation? I have seen an 
end of all perfection ; I have seen that all earthly 
things are limited, but Thy commandment is un- 
limited. 

Nor does the Old Testament Scripture alone fur- 
nish us with texts that have been deemed favorable 
to the necessary existence of indwelling sin, but 
certain portions of the New Testament have been 
also pressed into this unhallowed service ; especially 
that declaration of St. John, " If we say we have no 
sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 
But the question to be decided here is, whether the 
having no sin refers to a state of mind previously 
to, or succeeding, regeneration. That it points at 
the former, I infer from the 10th verse, where the 
apostle adds, " If we say that we have not sinned, 
we make him a liar " ; but more especially am I 
inclined to this opinion, from the general scope of 
the epistle ; for with what propriety or consistency 
could the apostle say, " These things write I unto 
you that ye sin not " ; " Whosoever abideth in him 
sinneth not " ; " We know that whosoever is born 
of God, sinneth not; " and then declare to the same 
persons, in the same state, " If we say we have no 
sin, we deceive ourselves ? " Surely, they that sin 
not cannot deceive themselves by saying " We have 
no sin." Even if the apostle speaks of sin in those 
who are regenerated, yet, taken in connection with 
the whole verse, it cannot favor the opinion of the 



110 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION . 

necessary existence of sin. "If we say that we 
have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is 
not in us; if we confess our sins," (the sins which 
we deceive ourselves by supposing that we have 
not) "He is faithful, and just, to forgive us our 
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteous™ 
Hence, even according to this interpretation of the 
text, the sins in the regenerate may be confessed, 
forgiven, and the soul, which has been the seat of 
those sins, cleansed from all unrighteousness; for as 
all unrighteousness is sin, to be cleansed from all 

unrighteousness is to be cleansed from all sin. 

The Apostle James says, " In many things We 
offend all" ; and this declaration has been not un- 
frequently brought forward to prove thai the holies! 
men upon earth aic offenders. Dr. Gill, comment- 
ing on this text, says, W *N<> man lives without sin; 
in many, in most, if not in all thing d man d 

he sins ; and this extends to the m nan sen 

and best works of a good man." " To offend," 
cording to Barrow, "originally signifies to inpi 
that is, to stumble, or hit dangerously, upon some- 
what lying cross our way, so as thereby to he i 
down, or at least to be disordered in our posture, 
and stopt in our progress." Now admitting that 
these offences, to which we are all subject, are 
moral evils, and not the unavoidable frailties or in- 
firmities of our flesh; yet may we not ask, have 
they the concurrence of the human will? Are they 
voluntary? Cannot we, by Christian vigilance and 
fervent prayer obtain power to avoid them? If not, 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. Ill 

it is difficult to say on what principle we ought to 
be condemned for committing them. But though 
St. James says, " In many things ice offend all," 
yet must we conclude that he was one of the of- 
fenders? He says, "We shall receive the greater 
condemnation — ive put bits in the horses' mouths 
— we turn about their whole body. The tongue 
among our members is a world of iniquity, and 
therewith curse we men." But will any man under- 
take to prove that St. James himself did all this? 
Yet, there is as much reason for concluding that he 
was a common swearer, because he says we curse 
men, as there is for supposing that he was a com- 
mon offender, because he says in many things we 
offend all. But that he was no enemy to Christian 
perfection, is sufficiently evident from the subsequent 
part of the verse, where he says, " If any man of- 
fend not in word, the same is a perfect man " ; that 
is, " a person accomplished, and complete in good- 
ness " ; or, as he expresses it elsewhere, " entire and 
wanting nothing." 

But no passages of the sacred Scriptures have 
been more usually resorted to, for the purpose of 
furnishing proofs of the necessary continuance of in- 
dwelling sin, than the statements made by St. Paul, 
Romans vii. 14-25. And it must be allowed that if 
those verses are descriptive of his personal experi- 
ence, that he at least, if not the advocate, was yet 
the slave of indwelling sin. Since the time of St. 
Austin, it has been a subject of great controversy 
whether St. Paul speaks of his own person, or 



112 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

whether he represents the sinful condition of those 
who had no other help against their own corruptions 
than the law of Moses. The chief reason, it is pre- 
sumed, why St. Paul is supposed to speak of him- 
self, is, that he uses the first person; but it should 
be recollected that this way of speaking was usual 
with the inspired writers, [saiah saj 3, " But we arc 
all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnei 
are as filthy rags ; and we do all fade as a Leaf; and 
our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us aw 
(lxiv. 6). Bui the prophet did not include himself in 
this description. In reference t<> Ins own state, he 
s t fys, " My soul shall be joyful in my God; for he 
hath clothed me with the garments of salvation; 
lie hath covered me with the robe of righteousm 
And St. Paul adopts the same mode of address. In 
this manner lie recites that blasphemous objection 
which occurs, Romans iii. 7, "If the truth of ( 
hath more abounded through my lie," (that is 1 1 i » 
faithfulness in keeping His covenant, through my 
unfaithfulness in breaking my covenant with him) 
" why am I judged as a sinner? " Nut I, Paul, who 
neither could act thus falsely, nor 8 bus pro- 

fanely* But he here represents the blasphemous 
objector, by speaking as of himself. And the same 
form of speech he uses when addressing himself to 
the Galatians. "If while we seek to be justified by 
Christ we ourselves are found sinners, is Christ 
therefore the minister of sin? God forbid. For if 
I build again the things which I destroyed," (which 
I utterly renounced, when I first believed in Christ) 



Objections aa & u ered. 113 

" I only make myself a transgressor." Here again 
he plainly transfers to himself what is to be under- 
stood of another man. Other instances might be 
adduced, such as occur 1 Cor. iv. 6 ; vi. 12 ; xiii. 2 ; 
Ephes. ii. 3 ; 1 Thess. iv. 17, to prove that though 
the apostle speaks in the first person, yet he does 
not therefore always speak of himself. 

And that St. Paul, in the verses referred to, per- 
sonates an unconverted man, is evident from the 
circumstance that neither his own experience, nor 
that of any regenerate person, can be reconciled 
witli the above description. St. Paul himself was 
bred up under the law, and was, touching the right- 
eousness of the law, blameless. But the person de- 
scribed Rom. xiv. 7-9, was alive without the law. 
Of the former it is said that he kept under his body, 
and is not thereby brought into captivity; but on 
the contrary, brought it into subjection and cap- 
tivity to the law of Christ (1 Cor. ix. 27). But of 
the latter, that the law in his members wars against 
the law of his mind, and brings him into captivity 
to the law of sin (ver. 23). Of the former it is 
asserted, that the world was crucified unto him, and 
he unto the world (Gal. vi. 11). Of the latter, that 
sin works in him all manner of concupiscence, L e., 
evil desire (ver. 8). The one can do all things 
through Christ who strengthens him (Phil. iv. 13). 
The other, how to do or perform what is good, he 
finds not (ver. 18). Of the one it is said that he is 
conscious of nothing by himself (1 Cor. iv. 4) ; but 
has always a conscience void of offence (Acts xxiv. 



114 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

163). But of the other, that he sinned against his 
own conscience ; for what I do, saith he, that I 
allow not; but what I hate that I do (ver. 15-19). 
Of one it is testified that the law of the spirit of life 
in Christ Jesus had made him free from the law of 
sin and death. Of the other, that sin revived and 
he died (ver. 11) ; and by deceiving him it has slain 
him (ver. 9-11). 

"If, therefore, we will believe St. Paul, if we will 
compare this with all his other accounts of himself, 
if we will suffer him to explain his own meaning, 
he cannot be the person here described. For they 
are persons of a quite different stamp, of an entirely 
contrary character. They are as opposite a 
spiritual and a carnal man ; a servant of God, and a 
slave of sin as one whose conscience acquits, and 
another whose conscience condemns him; as an 
of heaven, and a child of hell. So that he cannot 
speak of himself, in this chapter, and in the other 
places too." And the person here described is not 
only not an apostle, but not a regenerate man. 
Every regenerate man yields his members, not 
instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but 
instruments of righteousness unto God (chap. vi. 13). 
But this man, with his flesh or fleshly members, 
obeys the law of sin (ver. 25). A regenerate man is 
made free from sin (chap. vi. 18). But this man is 
sold under sin (ver. 14). A regenerate man is spirit- 
ual (Gal. vi. 1). But this man is carnal (ver. 14). A 
regenerate man has his fruit unto holiness (chap. vi. 
22). But of this man it is said, the motions of sin 



Objections answered: 115 

work in his members, to bring forth fruit unto 
death (verse 5). A regenerate man has his flesh, or 
body, a temple for the Holy Ghost which dwelleth 
in him (1 Cor. vi. 19). But of this man it is declared 
that in his flesh dwelleth no good thing (ver. 18). In 
a regenerate man, the body of sin is destro}~ed ; so 
that henceforth he doth not serve sin (chap. vi. 6). 
But this man cries out, " Oh wretched man that I am, 
who shall deliver me from the body of this death " 
(ver. 25). So that if we take the word of St. Paul, 
and the rest of the apostles in this matter, we must 
needs believe that regenerate men are not such per- 
sons as are described in this chapter, there being no 
agreement or resemblance at all between them. 
Their tempers and behavior are utterly inconsistent, 
and as far distant as heaven and hell. For one 
serves and fulfills the lusts of the flesh ; the other 
crucifies and subdues them. One yields his mem- 
bers servants unto sin ; the other, unto righteous- 
ness. One is in captivity, j'ea, sold under sin ; the 
other is made free from it. One is forced to act 
against his conscience ; the other always acts ac- 
cording to it. One complains of being oppressed 
by the body of death ; the other rejoices in being 
delivered from it. One brings forth fruit unto 
death, the other unto eternal life. 

Should it be asked of whom does the apostle 
speak, and whose state does he describe ? we 
reply not one who is wholly dead in sin, but one 
who is struggling with sin, yet not conquering ; 
one whose conscience is awakened, for he delights 



116 CHRISTIAN PEjRFECTloy. 

in the law of God, after the inner man, with hid 
mind or reason ; and when lie doth evil, lie doth not 
allow or approve it; but yet his practice is enslav- 
ed ; for what he hales that he doth; and how 
perform what is good he finds not ; so that with his 
flesh, in his bodily actions, he obeys the law of sin 
still, lie strives, but not etiough; he is not Ear 
from the kingdom of heaven, but as yel jhort 

of it. And this is tip in which Doddri 

considered the passage. His wo : "St.Paul 

first represents a man as ignorant of the law, ami 
then insensible of sin ; but afterwards 
qnainted with it, and (lien thrown into a kind of 
despair by the sentence of death which it pro- 
nounces on account of sins hi ascious of hav- 
ing committed." He then further show 
where there is so good a disposition as to delight in 
the law, yet the motives are too weak' to maintain 
that uniform tenor of obedience which a good man 
greatly desires, and which the gospel, by its superior 
motives and grace, dnvs in fact produ 

And illustrative of the same subject, Whitby 
says: " Had St. Paul here spoken of himself, con- 
sidered in the state in which he was at the enditing 
of this epistle lie must have contradicted what he 
had said of himself in the epistles to the Thessalon- 
ians and to the Corinthians, which were wril 
fore this epistle. For in his epistle to the Tin 
lonians, he saith: 'You are witnesses, and God i 
how holily and righteously and unblamably we 
behaved ourselves among you that believed' (1 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 117 

Thess. ii. 10). In his second epistle to the Corinth- 
ians he speaks thus : i This is our rejoicing, even the 
testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and 
godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the 
grace of God, we have had our conversation in the 
world' (2 Cor. i. 12). That he knew nothing by 
himself, for which to condemn himself (1 Cor. iv. 4). 
That he kept under his body, and brought it into 
subjection (1 Cor. ix. 27). Now, can the man who 
hath no power in him to do any good, who finds a 
law in his members warring against the law of his 
mind, and bringing him into captivity to the law of 
sin which is in his members, call God and the church 
to witness to his holy and unblamable life ? Can he 
boast of keeping under his fleshly body, and bring- 
ing that into subjection which, by his own confes- 
sion, bringeth him into captivity? Can he, who 
does not what he would in his mind and conscience 
do ; but what he hates ; not the good which he 
would, but the evil which he would not ; — can he, 
I saj^, rejoice in the testimony of his conscience ? 
Can he honestly declare he knows nothing by him- 
self for which his conscience can condemn him? 
How oft doth the apostle propose himself as a 
pattern to the churches unto whom he writes, 
requiring them to be followers of him, as he was 
also of Christ (1 Cor. ii. 1). And again, 'What things 
you have learned and received and heard and seen 
in me, these do, and the God of love and peace 
shall be with you' (Phil. iv. 8). That is, be you 
carnal, sold under sin, living in the commission of 



118 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

the things you hate, and your mind condemns, and 
doing what you judge to be evil, and yielding your- 
selves captive to the law of sin, which is in your 
members, and then the God of love and peace shall 
be with you. This, surely, is an absurd, if not a 
blasphemous exhortation ; and yet, according to 
this exposition, it must be suitable to the mind of 
the apostle." 

In unison with the same sentiment, Macknight 
observes: u They who think the apostle is here de- 
scribing his own case, and the I other reg 
erate persons, should consider that lie does not 
speak of single instances of omission of duty, and 
commission of sin ; for the words which lie uses all 
denote a continuation, or habit of acting. Now how 
such a habit of doing evil, and neglecting good can 
be attributed to any regenerated person, and esj 
ally to the Apostle Paul, who, before this epistle to 
the Romans was written, told the Thessalonians, 
'Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily, and 
righteously, and unblamably we behaved among 
you,' I confess I do not comprehend." lie also de- 
clares, " Most of the ancient Greek commentai 
all the Arminians, and some Calvinists, hold that 
though the apostle speaks in the first person, he by 
no means describes his own state, but the state of 
an unregenerated sinner awakened by the operation 
of the law to a sense of his sin and misery.*' 

Dr. Jer. Taylor, in a sermon on Rom. vii. V. 1 , 
entitled, " The Christian's Conquest over the Body 
of Sin," bears the following testimony : " The man 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 119 

St. Paul speaks of is one that is dead, ver. 9 ; one 
that was deceived and slain, ver. 11 ; one in whom 
sin was exceeding sinful, ver. 13; that is, highly 
imputed, greatly malicious, infinitely destructive. 
He is one who is carnal, sold under sin, ver. 14 ; he 
is one that sins against his own conscience and his 
reason, ver. 16 ; he is one in whom sin dwells, but 
the Spirit of God does not dwell." And afterwards 
he adds : " That St. Paul does not speak these words 
of himself, but under his own borrowed person, he 
describes the state of a carnal, unredeemed, unre- 
generate person, is expressly affirmed by St. Irenaeus 
and Origen, by Tertullian and St. Basil, by Theo- 
doret and Chrysostom, by St. Jerome and sometimes 
by St. Austin, by St. Ambrose and St. Cyril, by 
Macarius and Theophylact ; and is indeed that true 
sense and meaning of these words of St. Paul, which 
words none can abuse or misunderstand, but to the 
great prejudice of a holy life and the true patronage 
of all iniquity." Other testimonies might be pro- 
duced, both ancient and modern, in corroboration of 
the above statements ; but it is presumed they are 
unnecessary. 

But in addition to the objections raised against 
the doctrines of Christian perfection from Scripture 
testimony, others are deduced from Scripture charac- 
ters. Because some eminent men, whose examples are 
recorded for our imitation, have sometimes "failed in 
those virtues in which they most excelled," it is in- 
ferred that our "sinful propensities, though subdued 
by regeneration, are not yet totally eradicated," and 



120 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

that therefore we are " still but imperfect creatures 
in the sight of an heart-searching God." In reply 
to this objection, I offer two remarks. 

First, Many of the ancient saints were blameless 
in the sight of God. The inspired writers present 
them to us free from every defect^ and adorned with 
every virtue. Not a shade is cast upon their char- 
acters, not a flaw is found in their lives. Need I 
refer to such men as Abel, Enoch, Joshua, Caleb, 
Samuel, Isaiah, Daniel, Zach arias, Nathanael and 
John, in confirmation of this position? Nay, 
have a cloud of witnesses, of whom the world was 
not worth)', who all obtained a good report through 
faith; and since the Spirit of God, who has deline- 
ated their characters, has not seen lit to sully them 
by imputations of mora] blame, by what authority 
can we do it, and who gave us that authority? 
Hooker, indeed, has said, that "the wisdom of God 
setteth before us in Scripture so many admirable 
patterns of virtue, and no one of them without 
somewhat noted wherein they were culpa But 

this is to defy whom the Lord hath not defied. 'The 
ingenuous manner in which the defects discoverable 
in the characters of some of the saints is stated has 
been considered a strong proof of the integrity of 
the sacred writers; but, if while they expose the 
failures, and with a minuteness of detail describe 
the imperfections of some, they are no less careful 
to conceal the defects of others, their integrity 
assumes a very questionable shape. There v 
then those whose hearts were perfect towards God. 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 121 

who were unde filed in the way, and who walked in 
all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord 
blameless; and, as " goodness thinks no ill where 
no ill seems," we will leave these individuals as pure 
and as irreproachable as we find them. 

Secondly. As to the defects discoverable in the 
characters of other individuals, such as drunkenness 
in Noah, impatience in Job, adultery in David, and 
perfidy in Peter, without offering any palliation of 
these offences, they only prove what we have no 
disposition to deny, that no man is a peccable crea- 
ture, and at his best mortal state liable to sin. No 
accountable creature can be absolutely impeccable ; 
he alone that is essentially, is unchangeably good. 
But if peccability be invariably associated with im- 
perfection, then all intelligent created beings, of 
whose existence we have any knowledge, must be 
pronounced imperfect. "Angels kept not their 
first estate, but left their own habitation, and are 
reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto 
the judgment of the great day." Our primitive 
parents forfeited their original innocency ; and the 
righteous man may turn away from his righteous- 
ness, and commit iniquity, and do according to 
all the abominations that the wicked man doeth. 
But before the crimes which the people of God have 
committed can be substantiated as a legitimate 
argument for the necessity of indwelling sin, it must 
be assumed that these crimes were involuntary and 
unavoidable ; for if it be admitted that their avoid- 
ance was possible ; if those who have been taken in 



122 



CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 



the snare of the devil might, by fervent application 
to the throne of grace, have obtained sufficient help 
to break that snare, then the argument falls to the 
ground; as the crimes must, in that case, be re- 
solved into a negligence of duty, and not into a 
necessity of nature. And that these failings and 
sins are to be attributed to a neglect of duty even 
pious Calvinists allow. In confirmation of this, a 
celebrated author observes: w *Iu the present state 
our conformity is not entire, our graces are not pure, 
our virtues are not refined without alloy; but this 
is owing to our culpable impotence." And if our 
impotence be culpable, must it not be avoidable? 
u No man can be justly chargeable with guilt, in 
failing to accomplish what he had not a sufficiency 
of means to perform." And if our conformity to 
God is not entire, because we culpably neglect the 
means appointed for our purification, then our im- 
purity, or imperfection, cannot be regarded as a 
natural infirmity, unavoidably connected with our 
mortal state ; but a moral delinquency, from which, 
by the grace of God, in the use of the appointed 
means, we may be effectually delivered. 



CHAPTER VI. 

CONSEQUENCES RESULTING FROM THE OPINION 
THAT THE DEATH OF THE BODY IS NECES- 
SARY TO THE DESTRUCTION OF SIN. 

That "the body of sin in believers is an en- 
feebled, conquered, and deposed tyrant, and the 
stroke of death finishes its destruction," is a doctrine 
too prevalent in certain theological schools, to need 
any proof of its existence. Divines of acknowledg- 
ed reputation, both ancient and modern, from the 
pulpit and from the press, have broadly and unequi- 
vocably borne testimony to it ; but though conceal- 
ment has never been courted in reference to the 
adoption and propagation of such a doctrine, yet the 
consequences resulting from it have been too fre- 
quently overlooked, or but partially investigated. 
I am aware that it has been said that persons " are 
answerable, not for the consequences, but for the 
truth of their tenets ; and that if a doctrine be true, 
its being attended with disagreeable consequences 
cannot render it false." But in reply, I would ask, 
Is not the moral influence of a religious opinion the 
most correct voucher to its character, and the best 
123 



124 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

test of its truth? Whatever qualities Christianity 
may possess, it must be consistent with itself. It 
contains no discordant principles, nor can it produce 
effects subversive of its acknowledged design. We 
will therefore look at the consequences resulting 
from the opinion that sin can be destroyed only by 
the death of the body. 

1. It makes the existence of sin necessary during 
the whole period of our mortal and probationary 
state. 

Necessity and contingency stand in direct oppo- 
sition to each other; and everything that exist- La 
either necessary or contingent. That which must 
be, is necessary; that which may or may not be, 
is contingent. If, therefore, "a perfect Freedom 
from all sin is altogether unattainable in this 
not only by ordinary Christians, but by the most 
eminent saints," then sin lias a necessary ex 
It is an evil altogether unavoidable. Men m 
necessity is laid upon them to sin ; even saints of 
the most eminent characters and the highest attain- 
ments must be sinners. To assert that an indivi- 
dual cannot be dispossessed of his habitation, nor 
destroyed in it, until it be demolished, is to make 
the life and tenancy of that individual unalterably 
co-existent with his habitation. And if sin has 
a necessary existence, where is its sinfulness? Can 
sin be imputed where its avoidance is impracticable ? 
Moral blame can result only from the abuse of 
moral liberty. We can never have any compunc- 






DEATH OF THE hOBY XOT tfECESSAkt. 125 

tions of conscience for what we cannot help. Justin 
Martyr says, " If man has not power by his free 
choice to avoid evil and to choose the good, he is 
unblamable whatsoever he does?" St. Bernard de- 
clares, " The will alone can make a man deservedly 
just or unjust, and can deservedly render him fit 
for bliss or misery, as it consents either to righteous- 
ness or iniquity ; for as much as the will, accord- 
ing to its innate liberty, cannot be forced to will or 
nill anything against its own dictates." Dr. Jer. 
Taylor bears a similar testimony : " The will," says 
he, "is the only fountain and proper principle of 
sin, insomuch as the fact is no sin if it be involun- 
tary ; but the willing is a sin, though no act fol- 
lows." And Dr. Watts asserts that " there is no 
such thing as actual sin, properly speaking, but in 
free acts of the will." And if, as Burkitt observes, 
" the habitual bent, settled purpose, and determin- 
ate resolution of a Christian's will is against all 
sin," then he cannot be justly charged with the 
commission of actual sin. And if sin does not act, 
how can it exist? Is sin a quiescent thing? Even 
admitting that it exists in principle, that Christians 
have in them the seeds of sin or roots of bitterness; 
yet, if these exist necessarily, which they must do if 
they cannot be exterminated until death, then they 
exist innocently ; and thus the doctrine which 
makes sin absolutely co-existent with our mortal life, 
while it binds us to a necessity of committing it, de- 
stroys its moral turpitude, and exonerates us from 
all imputations of blame, both in principle and 
action. 



126 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

But though these conclusions are legitimately de- 
duced from the doctrine in question, yet with the 
truths of revelation they are utterly at variance. 
The Bible prohibits sin; hence such admonitions as 
the following : " Stand in awe, and sin not" ; " 
and sin no more " ; " These tilings write I unto you, 
that ye sin not" ; "Sin no more, lest a worse tiling 
come unto thee"; "Be ye angry, and sin n> 
"Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that 
doth so easily beset us"; "Shall we continue in 
sin that grace may abound ? God forbid." Since 
God, therefore, hath "forbidden sin so earnestly, 
threatened it so deeply, hates it so essentially, pre- 
vents it so cautiously, dissuades us from it so pas- 
sionately, punishes it so severely, arms us against it 
so strongly, and sent His Son, so piously and char- 
itably, to root out sin from the face of the earth, 
certainly it cannot be thought that He hath made 
a necessity of sinning; for whatsoever He hath 
made necessary is as innocent as what He hath com- 
manded." And were it true that freedom from sin 
is altogether unattainable in this life even by the 
most eminent saints, then there would be as mucli 
propriety in charging fire not to burn, as in bidding 
saints not to sin ; since burning is no more the phy- 
sical concomitant of the former, than sinning is the 
moral condition of the latter. 

If we assume, for the sake of argument, that a 
complete freedom from moral evil cannot be obtained 
in this world, and that the most perfect Christian 
must commit sin as long as he lives, will there not 



DEATH OF THE BODY NOT NECESSARY. 127 

be considerable difficulty in ascertaining to what 
extent inherent corruption may be destroyed in the 
souls of obedient believers, and what portion of it 
must necessarily remain? The standard of Chris- 
tian privilege, as marked in the Scriptures, is a being 
made " free from sin " ; and a being " filled with 
all the fullness of God." But take away this 
standard, or assume that this exalted state of Chris- 
tian piety may be brought to harmonize with the 
existence of some sinfully carnal propensities, and 
then it may be asked, in what number, and to what 
degree, may these propensities be allowed to exist? 
Let no man deem this an absurd, or an unnecessary 
enquiry ; for unless this can be ascertained, the ob- 
ligations to duty cannot be appreciated, and of con- 
sequence cannot be discharged. Whatever Chris- 
tianity exhibits as a privilege, it enjoins as a duty. 
What God wills us to enjoy, He makes it imperative 
upon us to seek ; but on the supposition that some 
remains of the carnal mind must necessarily exist 
in the souls of the most eminent saints until death, 
then, to seek the present destruction of those re- 
mains, can form no part of their duty. For what 
excitement or obligation can move them to seek for 
the immediate possession of an object which, in the 
present state, it is impossible to obtain ? As an en- 
couragement to $uty, the Scriptures almost uni- 
formly connect with it the prospect of reward. The 
precept and the promise go together. Hence such 
texts as the following : " If thou seek him, he will 
be found of thee," " And ye shall seek me, and find 



128 CHklSTlAit PERFECTWS. 

me, when ye shall search for me with all your heai 
" Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord 
shall be saved." Duty never stands alone, it is 
never enjoined for its own sake, it looks beyond it- 
self, and it must ever be regarded as means leading 
to an end. - If we ask, it is that we may receive : if 
we seek, it is that we may find ; and if we knock, it 
is that the door may be opened unto us. But if we 
believe that a complete freedom from all sin is not 
to be obtained in this world, then, to be itent 

with our creed, we must cease to pray for its im- 
mediate destruction; since prayer for the possession 
of an unexpected and an unattainable object ran be 
inspired by no motive, and be directed to no end. 

Nor is this all; on the assumption that some of 
the sinful lusts of the flesh must remain in the souls 
of the faithful as long as they live, and that no 
Scriptural test can be applied to instruct us how far 
they are necessarily existent, will there not 1 
danger of making human opinion the standard of 
Christian piety'/ May not one man think more 
highly of himself than he ought to think, and l>c 
vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind? and another 
suffer anger to rest in his bosom? and another love 
the world? and another go up and down as a tale- 
bearer among the people? and another suffer sin 
upon his brother? and each of these, assuming that 
no man can live without sin, find a pretext, not to 
say an argument, for his irregularity of conduct, 
or his neglect of duty? How can a Christian, cred- 
iting the above doctrine, know that his experience 



DEATH OF THE BODY NOT XECESSAltY. 129 

is not the whole of what is attainable in this world? 
He who believes that the portraiture drawn by St. 
Paul in the seventh chapter to the Romans was his 
own likeness cannot form a very high opinion of 
Christian privileges ; and his attainments must be 
low indeed who deems himself worse than carnal, 
and more enslaved than to be sold under sin. 

I allow that those who deny the possibility of be- 
ing redeemed from all iniquity in this world have 
yet most strenuously advocated the expediency of 
growing in grace, and aiming at high attainments in 
Christian holiness. D wight says, " The true aim 
of every man ought to be pointed at perfection " ; 
and Witsius declares, " The godly are indeed al- 
lowed, nay, are commanded to aspire to perfection." 
But if perfection be not possible, where is the pro- 
priety of pointing our aim at it ? " An aim is at- 
tainable " ; thus a marksman aims at a bird, "an 
emulous youth aims at acquiring the esteem of his 
teachers," a warrior aims at martial glory ; but 
no man aims at an acknowledged impossibility. 
Discouragement and despair, rather than faith and 
diligence, will be excited by aiming at a mark which, 
in this life, is unattainable. But though we are 
" commanded to aspire to perfection," yet, accord- 
ing to the same author, we are not " allowed to beg 
of God to grant " us "perfection here." But how 
we can be in duty bound to aim at that for which 
God does not allow us to pray, is too mysterious for 
my comprehension. In opposition to this doctrine, 
however, I feel no scruple in affirming, that the 



130 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

Scriptures teach us to aspire after no other perfec- 
tion than what is attainable in this world. 

II. If sin cannot be destroyed, or cast out of the 
believing soul during its union with the body, then 
the language of Scripture is strangely ambiguous, 
and can scarcely fail to mislead us on the great sub- 
ject of our personal salvation. 

For if such expressions as being " free from sin," 
"dead indeed unto sin," cleansed "from all un- 
righteousness," and redeemed from all iniquil 
mean no more than that a proce for- 

ward that will end in freedom from sin; or that sin 
hath received its death-blow, and will certainly 
pire with the body; or that the price is paid for 
our redemption from iniquity, and that some of its 
chains are actually broken, then what confidence 
can we put in Scripture testimony? In our com- 
mon intercourse with society, if we affirm that a 
thing is done, when we only mean that it is in 
the act of doing; if we declare that certain individ- 
uals are dead, when we only mean that they are 
likely to die, do we not forfeit the character of verac- 
ity, and subject ourselves to the imputation of being 
false witnesses ? The words which revelation uses 
to illustrate our Christian privileges and enjoy- 
ments, are as copious and comprehensive as human 
language can furnish. Imagination may travel in 
vain through the whole range of expression to find 
phraseology more rich, decisive, and determinate, 
than what is supplied by the following Scriptures: 



DEATH OF THE BODY XOT XECESSARY. 131 

" Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in 
God " ; " Ye have put off the old man with his 
deeds, and have put on the new man"; "Yield 
yourselves unto God as those which are alive from 
the dead, and your members as instruments of right- 
eousness unto God " ; " Be ye holy in all manner 
of conversation " ; " Ye shall be holy, for I the 
Lord your God am holy " ; " The fruit of the Spirit 
is in all goodness and righteousness and truth " ; 
u Ye are full of goodness"; " Filled with all the 
fullness of God " ; " Filled with the fruits of right- 
eousness"; "Fruitful in every good work"; 
" Perfect in every good work " ; " Holy, and without 
blemish " ; " Not having spot or blemish, or any 
such thing." Now if such truth as the above can 
be realized in our Christian experience, while 
we are " sin's captive, though unwilling prisoner " ; 
then the trumpet must give an uncertain sound, and 
Scripture expressions belie Scripture verities. 

III. The doctrine of the necessary existence of 
sin, limits the operations of the Holy One of Israel, 
and restricts the exercises and experience of Chris- 
tian piety within a certain prescribed range. 

Divine grace in its operations on the human 
heart, is compared by our Saviour to leaven, which 
slowly and silently diffuses its assimilating quality 
through the soul, until the whole is leavened ; that 
is, until it bears the image of the heavenly, as it be- 
fore bore the image of the earthly. But if this can 
be done only in the article of death, then a Christian 



132 CHRISTIAN PERFECTI0.\. 

may arrive at a state previously to that period 
which precludes the possibility of further advance- 
ment. Let us familiarize this by a comparison. 
Mr. Henry considers the conquests gained by the 
Israelites over the nations of Canaan as emblemati- 
cal of the victories obtained by believers over their 
corruptions; and as the remnants of those nati 
were left to prove Israel, so he concludes that the 
remains of our inbred corruptions are left to pr 
us. We will assume this, therefore, as the ground 
of our illustration, tt is. easy to conceive of th 
victorious Israelites carrying their conqu 
into the territories of their enemies, discomfiting 
them in every onset, as even to threaten their total 
extermination. But if we admit, with the above- 
mentioned writer, that they were not allowed to de- 
stroy them utterly, then we must suppose th 
Israelites placed in a situation which pr< 
them from making any additional conquests. A 
further illustration, imagine a disordered man. The 
physician says your disease is incurable; it has 
taken such deep root in your constitution that a 
toration to perfect health is impossible. lie en- 
quires, can you furnish no medicine that will check 
the progress of my disorder, and afford me a partial 
degree of health? Yes, to a certain extent we can, 
but no further. Then I ask, does it not necessarily 
follow that there is an approximation to a state of 
convalescence which that man may make, beyond 
which no further melioration can be obtained? 
This will explain my meaning. Sin is the moral 



DEATH OF THE BODY XOT XECESSARY. 133 

disorder of the mind ; on the ground of the doc- 
trine in question, it is impossible for that disorder 
to be totally eradicated in the present state ; but it 
may be partially subdued. Then the inference is 
plain ; a Christian may arrive at that point which 
divides all that is possible to be enjoyed of health 
from all that is impossible to be eradicated of 
disease ; or in other words, he may attain to a cer- 
tain stage in his Christian pilgrimage where his 
piety must necessarily become stationary, or retro- 
grade ; progressive it cannot be, since all advance- 
ment is precluded. Sin is already in believers "an 
enfeebled, conquered, and deposed tyrant " ; but as 
" the stroke of death alone " can finish his " de- 
struction," all attempts to accelerate that destruc- 
tion, by inflicting on him additional wounds, or 
subjecting him to more rigid mortifications, are as 
idle as the task of seeking to arrest the tempest by 
a whisper, or to extinguish a conflagration by a 
tear. In opposition, however, to this doctrine, 
Christianity is all progression and advancement; 
they w4io have commenced the race for eternal life 
may press towards the mark, and go on to perfec- 
tion; they who are perfect may be established, 
strengthened, and settled, their love may abound 
more and more, their faith may grow exceedingly, 
their peace may flow as a river, their heads may be 
anointed with fresh oil, and their cups run over; 
whatever their attainments may be in religion, or 
wherever they may take their stand in their Chris- 
tian course, richer prospects, and " scenes surpassing 



134 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

fable " brightening without bounds, rise in glorious 
succession before them ; and all that faith surveys, 
and hope antedates, diligence secures, and experi- 
ence realizes ; and thus they may go from strength 
to strength, until every mountain obstacle become a 
plain, and every alien spirit be put to flight, and 
they, with everlasting joy upon their heads apj 
even' one of them in Zion before God. 

IV. The doctrine that a perfect freedom from 
sin is altogether unattainable in this life, most ef- 
fectually mini.- the maintenance of spiritual 
sloth and lukewarmness in religion. 

There are few tilings that Christian b< 
should hold in greater abhorrence than the indul- 
gence of a Laodicean spirit. Every thing thai con- 
tributes to the promotion of a ii alothfulu 

and a frigid formality in our religious I ight 

to be deeply deprecated and sedulously guarded 
against. Lukewarmness is peculiarly offei] 
Christ; " I would," said he to the angel of Laodi- 
cean church, "thouwert cold or hot, so then, be- 
cause thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, 
I will spue thee out of my mouth." It is highly 
discreditable to our Christian profession; it i 
state of great mental inquietude, not leaving us at 
liberty to enjoy the pleasures of the world, nor al- 
lowing us to realize the superior pleasures of r - 
gion ; it places our eternal salvation in the balance 
of a dreadful uncertainty, and involves us in fearful 
doubt, whether we shall be saved or damned; it 






j 



DEATH OF THE BODY NOT NECESSARY. 135 

throws a barrier in the way of our usefulness, and be- 
comes a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to 
such as otherwise would be zealous of good works. 
And it not only militates against the plainest pre- 
cepts of the gospel, but it is subversive of its whole 
design, which is to present every man perfect in 
Christ Jesus. 

Lukewarmness is not ^infrequently attributable to 
the native indolence of the human mind, and to the 
indisposition which we too commonly feel to the 
practice of self-denial; but in many instances it 
originates in erroneous views of Christian privileges, 
and in the low standard formed of religious attain- 
ments. "One great reason," says Seed, "why 
men do not quicken their pace more in the ways of 
goodness, is owing to a very great mistake in the 
judgments they are apt to form of themselves, by 
using a deceitful standard ; they never consider 
virtue in her native and divine image; they only 
view it as brought down to their senses in the lives 
of other people." Many professors are disposed 
to enquire, how little religion will secure their sal- 
vation, and with what slender qualifications they 
may enter heaven, rather than how richly and 
gloriously they may participate of the divine na- 
ture, and how high they may rise in salvation and 
the climes of bliss. Diligence to secure an object 
must necessarily be subordinate to the views which 
we entertain of the excellency and attainableness of 
that object. He who unbelievingly restricts the 
operations of divine grace within a certain pre- 



136 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

scribed range, will have little excitement to lool 
yond it. He will never expect God to do for him 
what he believes lias not been done for a single in- 
dividual since sin entered into the world, and what, 
according to his opinion, is either physically 
morally impossible to be done. For if sin cannot be 
wholly destroyed from the soul during its union 
with the body, then a certain portion of it must 
necessarily remain, and a precise boundary ( 
within the limits of which the operations of duty 
must lie confined. 

A warrior who finds out thai a certain district, in 
a country which he has successfully invaded, has 

never been conquered, and that in consequent* 

the peculiarity of its situation, its impregnable 
fort; .ml the invincible proi ! inhabi- 

tants, never can be conquered, will satisfy himself 
with the laurels he has won, and never have the hardi- 
hood to expend blood and treasure on an 
whence nothing can issue but discomfiture and dis- 
grace. And on the same principle, let it be 
sumed that the exu d must be perpetuated 

until death, and then as a necessary conseque 
all efforts to obtain an entire deliverance from it in 
the present life will be suspended. Despair of s 
cess cuts the sinews of diligence in every enterpi 
Motives can operate only on possibilities. "Our 
powers owe much of their energy to our h<> ; 
when success seems attainable, diligence is enforc 
but when it is admitted that the faculties are 8 
pressed by a cross wind or a cloudy sky. the da 



DEATH OF THE BODY XOT NECESSARY. 137 

given up without resistance ; for who can contend 
with the course of nature ? " Nothing can move a 
husbandman to sow seed in land on which he kn 
the curse of barrenness inevitably rests. Where 
there is no expectation of a crop, there will be no 
culture of the soil. We admit that all regenerate 
persons, whatever may be their creed, have an ab- 
horrence of sin, and an expectation of its final de- 
struction ; "for there is in the bosom of every true 
Christian a strenuous principle of resistance to sin; 
and it belongs to the very essence of the principle 
that it is a resistance to all sin ,? ; but if he believe 
that for certain occult reasons in the divine econ- 
omy, the period of sin's final destruction is ne 
sarily delayed, even that belief will serve to recon- 
cile him to the present existence of his corruptions, 
to view them with a more favorable aspect, and to 
be unconcerned as to the ascendancy that they at 
present gain in the mind. For to admit that sin has 
a necessary existence in the souls of obedient be- 
lievers, and that no man, however much he may 
watch and pray, and strive to conquer his corrup- 
tions, can live without sin, is to admit the fruitless- 
ness of all human endeavors, and the inefficacy of 
all divine ordinances and influences for the accom- 
plishment of such an object ; and the transition 
from the practice of a duty consciously unproduc- 
tive of advantage, to its total disuse and abandon- 
ment, is brief and natural. Hence the dispiriting 
notion that sin is indestructible during the period of 
a Christian's pilgrimage, cannot fail to paralyze his 



138 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

exertions, to make him undervalue the means of 
grace, to palliate, if not justify, the outbreaking^ of 
corruption, and to induce a state of habitual luke- 
warmness, or of final apostasy. For what motive 
can a man have for pressing towards a mark, to 
which in the present world he cannot come, and the 
period of whose attainment cannot be accelerated 
by his diligence or retarded by his sloth? Great 
attempts are the results of great expectations ; and 
an elevated aim is necessary, and a high standard of 
excellence indispensible, for the attainment of a 
superior degree of distinction in any department 
science; and therefore the Scriptures place bei 
our eyes a state of great moral eminence and perl 
spiritual purity, as the privilege of saints, and con- 
sequently as the object to which their undivided at- 
tention should be directed, and after which they 
should uniformly and intensely aspire. 

V. The doctrine that the stroke of death finishes 
the destruction of the body of sin, stamps a dignity 
on the effect to which the cause is totally inadequate. 

It is a maxim which few will be disposed to call 
in question, that no effect can rise above its cai 
the agency can never exceed the powers of the 
agent, nor the mechanism be superior to the mechan- 
ic. All effects are not only subordinate to their 
causes, but naturally and necessarily proportioned 
to them. In the doctrine in question, the effect is 
the destruction of sin, the cause is the stroke of 
death. Now here, the effect rises vastly superior to 



DEATH OF THE BODY NOT NECESSARY, 139 

the cause ; the former is the removal and extinction 
of a great moral evil, which required a sacrifice of 
infinite dignity and efficacy for its expiation, and 
the latter is the mere cessation of animal life. Now 
I ask, is there any adequateness in the cause to pro- 
duce the effect? If the stroke of death finishes the 
destruction of sin, it must do it efficiently, or in- 
strumentally ; that is, either as an agent, or an in- 
strument. As an agent, it cannot do it, for we are 
saved by the washing of regeneration, and the re- 
newing of the Holy Ghost; and as the power of 
sin is broken, and the dominion of it destroyed by 
the Spirit of the living God, in which death can 
operate neither as an agent nor as an instrument, 
there can be no ground for supposing that 
it can give the finishing stroke to a work which 
it had no power to originate, and during the pro- 
gress of which it had no existence. If death, there- 
fore, at all contribute to the destruction of sin, it 
must be as an instrument ; and to this opinion the 
following quotation bears testimony : " God is 
pleased to continue death in the world, to saints 
and believers, because by this, He would extinguish 
all the relics of sin, which are perceptibly seated in 
the carnal and sensitive faculties. Death is a mark 
of God's displeasure against sin, and He continues 
it to be so to the end of the world to all His people, 
that He may make death instrumental to abolish 
sin." But as the existence and employment of an 
instrument must necessarily be antecedent to the 
effect which is to be produced by its operation, it 



140 



CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 



follows that if death instrumentally contribute to 
the destruction of sin, that destruction must necessari- 
ly be posterior to the infliction of the stroke of death ; 
in which case the soul must be made free from sin 
in its separate state. For death, in strict propriety 
of speech, is mere privation. Between life and 
deatli there can be no medium; the e 
the former pre-supposes the non-existence of the lat- 
ter. If the blood of Christ, ther< leanseth us 
from all sin, it must be while the soul is embodied 
or disembodied ; if the former, it is done in life ; it' 
the latter, it is done after death. 

That the death of the body cannot be essential to 
the destruction of sin, appears from the following 
considerations: Enoch and Elijah were transla 
without seeing deatli: and being taken alive to 
heaven in soul and body, they could not, tin 
have been purged from sin, either by the process, or 
in the article of death. The saints who will be 
found alive at the coming of Jesus Christ to j 
ment, will be caught up to meet the Lord in the 
air, and be forever with the Lord. They also will 
be made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of 
saints in light by grace and not by death. And 
that the dissolution of the body can in nowise c 
tribute to the salvation of the soul, is evident from 
the fact that salvation throughout the New Tea 
ment is instrumentally ascribed to faith ; and if it 
be by faith, it cannot be by death. How can 
things so utterly and irreconcilably adverse in their 
origin, nature and influence, as faith and death, by 



DEATH OF THE BODY NOT NECESSARY. 141 

any conceivable possibility operate in the production 
of the same moral effect? Faith is a fruit of the 
Spirit, death is a fruit of sin. Faith is an active 
virtue, death is a passive effect. Faith is of the 
operation of God, death by the operation of physi- 
cal evil. The sphere of faith is mind, the region of 
death is matter. In faith, man is the actor, in death, 
he is the object ; and to prove that faith not only 
ministers instrumental^ to the removal of guilt, 
but to the complete sanctification of our nature, St. 
Peter, speaking of the calling of the Gentiles, de- 
clares, " God put no difference between them and 
us, purifying their hearts by faith." And if the 
hearts of Jews and Gentiles, in the primitive and 
purest ages of Christianity, were alike purified by 
faith, I can see no reason why we should wait until 
death for our purification. Can it be conceived 
that there is any occult quality in death, the eldest 
curse of sin, to contribute to the efficacy of faith? 
Can the effect operate to the production of an in- 
strument that is to destroy the cause, and penal evil 
become a remedy for moral evil? Abraham's faith, 
according to St. James, " wrought with his works, 
and by works was faith made perfect " ; but if the 
doctrine in question be true, faith now must work 
with death ; and through death faith must be made 
perfect. 

Perhaps it w T ill be said that nothing more is meant 
by the stroke of death finishing the destruction of 
sin, than that sin expires with the death of the body ; 
and that nature's dissolution, and sin's destruction. 



142 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

are events simultaneous in their date. Then it may 
be questioned, Where is this taught or even inti- 
mated, in the Scriptures? Were this a doctrin \ of 
revelation, then all contentions concerning it must 
be closed ; but we know it is not in the Bible, and 
therefore conclude it is not of God. And it mai 
further asked, Is such an opinion reasonable? Death 
may end the heart-ache, and a thousand natural 
shocks that flesh is heir to, but is it rational to sup- 
pose that it will terminate the "existence of sin, and 
give the finishing stroke to our moral malady'/" Is 
man's last hour more favorable to the extermination 
of evil than any other period of his existence? [f 
sin were wholly dependent on the bodily organs and 
animal appetites for its origination, then t! 
might be some show of argument in the support of 
an opinion that the body of flesh and blood must 
be disorganized in order to the destruction of the 
body of sin; but sin is engendered in the mind; 
the will is the moral principle or agent within us, 
and the proper subject of virtue or vice ; and though 
the bodily senses are commonly the avej 
temptation and the inlets to evil, and the memb 
of the body the instruments of unrighteousness, yet 
the whole turpitude of sin is attributable to the 
mind ; for " out of the heart of men, proceed evil 
thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, th 
covetousness, wickedness, deceit, iasciviousness, an 
evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness; all th 
evil things come from within, and defile the man 91 
(Mark vii. 21, 22, 23). Attempts have been made 



DEATH OF THE BODY XOT NECESSARY. 143 

to prove that " the irregularities of the bodily senses 
and appetites are, in a moral sense, sins of the body ; " 
and in support of such an opinion, the frequent use 
which the apostles make of the term flesh, in con- 
nection with sin, has been referred to ; thus we read 
of sowing u to the flesh," living "after the flesh," 
minding " the things of the flesh," being " in the 
flesh," and of " fleshly lusts, which war against the 
soul ; " and hence a certain celebrated author of 
the last century has not scrupled to affirm that " the 
body is perhaps the original and remote spring of 
all sin." But if sin be a moral act, which supposes 
intelligence and liberty, or power of choice in its 
agent, then it cannot be predicated of mere matter, 
nor even of matter organized and animated by a 
rational soul. How can the body, in an abstract 
sense, ever be the subject of moral praise or blame? 
Whoever thinks of applauding a man's body for 
sobriety, temperance, or chastity ? or of censuring the 
body for acts of drunkenness, gluttony, or unclean- 
ness? Whoever supposes that sin has its seat in 
the eyes, because they behold vanity ? or in the ears, 
because they hear of blood? or in the tongue, be- 
cause it blasphemes God? Some sins are confessed- 
ly spiritual, such as pride, anger, malice, revenge, 
and the like ; and could we conceive that any sins 
are wholly originated by the body, they must be 
such as adulteries, fornications, lasciviousness, and 
an evil eye ; yet in reference to these, our Lord de- 
clares, that they " come from within," and " proceed 
out of the heart." 



144 (JURIS XI AX PERFECTION. 

If we admit that the original spring of sin is in 
the body, or as another theologian has asserted, that 
"sin has its seat in the body," then we are led to 
the absurd conclusion that by possibility the body 
may be sinful and the soul sinless at the same time ; 
and that the body contaminates the soul, and matter 
corrupts mind. In this case, also, we can - 
avoid believing that sin must be divisible : and that 
the amputation of certain parts of the body would 
most materially diminish the springs of Bin; while 
the disunion of soul and body would render the soul 
incapable of sinning, as the springs of sin would be 
forever dried up. And if the spring or scat of sin is 
in the body, then the whole province of Christian 
vigilance is to regulate the appetites, and govern 
the members of the body; and the soul in this c 
is but the mere instrument of the body, and must be 
ever subject to its control: and to keep the h 
with all diligence, to curb the sallies of the imagina- 
tion, to arrest the wanderings of the affections, and 
to resist the devil steadfast in the faith, if duties at 
all imperative upon us, they can only be duties of an 
inferior character, and of subordinate import. In 
addition to this, if the seat of sin is in the body, 
must it not follow that the seat of virtue is in the 
body also? If virtue is to supplant vice, will it not 
be by regaining its usurped territory? If Christ is 
to cast out Belial, will not the contest for the mas- 
tery be maintained where the enemy sits enthroned ? 
And if the seat of sin be in the flesh, can the seat of 
piety be in the spirit ? Will the former be in the 



DEATH OF THE BODY XOT XECESSABT. 145 

outward, and the latter be in the inward man ? The 
Scripture, indeed, mentions a contest between the 
flesh and the spirit ; but the enemies in this contest 
are not soul and body, " but the grace of the sancti- 
fying spirit, and the remains of natural corruption." 

VI. The doctrine of the necessary existence of 
sin, during the whole of a Christian's probationary 
state, carries with it the assumption, that sin at least 
indirectly ministers to his spiritual advantage. 

For to what cause, except this, can its continued 
existence be attributed? Sin never can advance 
God's praise, or redound to His glory. God hath 
made all things for Himself, and all things display 
the glory of His perfections ; but He is especially 
glorious in holiness. Everything that essentially 
belongs to God, or that is associated with His name, 
His nature, or His habitation ; His word, or works 
or worship, bears marks of His holiness. The 
Scriptures speak of holiness as the supreme excel- 
lence and perfection of God. His habitation is 
called the habitation of His holiness and of His 
glory. He sitteth upon the throne of His holiness. 
He speaks in His holiness, and swears by His holi- 
ness. His attendants are ministers of holiness, who 
rest not day and night, saying, " Holy, holy, holy, 
Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to 
come." Holiness is therefore the glory of God ; it 
is "the flower of all His attributes." Without holi- 
ness, power would degenerate into oppression, wis- 
dom into subtilty, sovereignty into tyranny, and 



146 CHRISTIAN PERFECTI< 

justice into cruelty. And as God is eminently and 
transcendently holy; as there is in the Deity an 
everlasting separation and distance from all moral, 
no less than natural, imperfection, and an infinite 
repugnance to all sin, it follows, by a necessary con- 
sequence, that God loves holiness. lie takes an 
eternal complacency, and sell-sat isfaction in His own 
essential and immaculate purity; He delights in 
holiness, because it is His image; and loving it in 
Himself, lie cannot fail to love it in all His into 
gent creatures. He is holy in all His works. ( 
tion was no less the mirror of His unspotted purity 
than of His power, Man, when he sprang fresh 
from his Maker's hand, was a transcript of His holi- 
ness, lie was holy, as ( rod is holy. But sin entered 
into the world, and defaced the divine image from 
the soul; and man became altogether filthy and 
abominable; his mind and his conscience were de- 
filed, and lie worked all nncleanness with greedi- 
ness. Redemption is the restoration of forfeited 
purity. Christ sanctifies the people with His blood, 
and being created anew, they are made partake] 
the divine nature; and they glorify (rod in their 
body and spirit, which are God's. And God is m 
glorified where He is most resembled; not in the 
splendor of His Majesty, nor in the achievements of 
His power, but in the holiness of His nature and the 
benevolence of His actions ; and He is most dishon- 
ored by those who in moral purity and practice 
least like Him. God can, therefore, never be recon- 
ciled to sin ; and to assert that it is not the will of 



LEATII OF THE BODY XOT XECE^SARY. 147 

God that sin should be immediately destroyed in the 
souls of those who, by His grace, have been induced 
to abhor it, and by His power to conquer it, and 
now, by His Spirit, to groan and pray for deliver- 
ance from it, would be to make the existence of sin 
harmonize with His will. For there is no medium 
between willing the existence and the non-existence 
of a thing. And if sin exist by the will of God, 
where is it sinfulness? Why does God on this 
principle, prohibit sin? Why say, " Oh, do not this 
abominable thing that I hate?" Why pour out 
His indignation on sinners, and for no other reason 
but because they are sinners? And if God does not 
will the destruction of sin in the souls of obedient 
believers until death, we are inevitably led to the 
conclusion that the will of God is not an immutable 
attribute, eternally and necessarily set against sin, 
but a changeful principle, at variance with itself, 
and arbitrary in all its volitions. 

But by appealing " to the law, and to the testi- 
mony," we learn that God hath no pleasure in wick- 
edness ; that He is a God of truth, and without ini- 
quity ; and is of purer eyes than to behold evil. Sin, 
therefore, in every instance, and in every individual, 
and under all circumstances, must be the object of 
God's unchangeable abhorrence and righteous indig- 
nation. To assert that though God wills the de- 
struction of sin in believers in this life, but that His 
power is inadequate to effect its extinction, would be 

" To set at odds heaven's jarring attributes, 
And, with one excellence, another wound," 



148 CHRIS TIAX VFAIFK CTIi 

God's attributes are all infinite. "Is anything tod 
hard for the Lord?'' And to suppose that though 
God possesses power sufficient to destroy all sin, yet 
that He refuses to put forth that power in behalf of 
His elect, who cry to Him day and night, to be 
avenged of their enemies, is a reflection on II 
ness and a disavowal of His truth, which engage* 
grant whatsoever they ask according to His will, and 
promises that "no good thing shall be withheld from 
them that walk uprightly." 

Since, therefore, nothing ap in the divine 

character, abstractedly considered, that can at all 
be construed into a countenance of sin, its con- 
tinued existence is supposed to issue in the spirit- 
ual advantage of God's people. And however 
strange or questionable such a supposition may ap- 
pear, yet it has been noi obscurely hinted at mer 
but broadly and unequivocally affirmed. Do no1 
the following passages sufficiently illustrate this 
doctrine? "God, that lets us fall, knows how 
make as good use of the sins of His holy ones 
of their obedience." * w * Nothing will make us truly 
humble, nothing will make us constantly vigilant, 
nothing will entirely lead us to have recourse 
prayer so fervently, or so frequently, as the ever- 
abiding sense of our corrupt nature."! "Even the 
best of God's people are beholden to their sins: 
they make them walk more softly, and to have more 
humble and mean opinions of themselves ; and to 

*Bisliop Hairs " Contemplations. 91 
t Hannah More' a " Moral Sketches." 



DEATH OF THE BODY XOT NECESSARY* 149 

be more low in their own eyes." " Holiness and 
piety are advantaged by sin ; sin is a foil to holi- 
ness, as the dark shadows are advantages to the pic- 
ture."* " The sins of a Christian are for his good ; 
and if he had no sin, he would not be so well off; 
neither would prayer flow so well." f This list 
might easily be enlarged from the works of others 
who have espoused and propagated the same doc- 
trine ; and if it be a doctrine according to godliness, 
and the best of God's people are really beholden to 
their sins, they may assuredly find in the selfishness 
of their own hearts an apology, at least, if not a 
legitimate reason for the continued existence of 
their corruptions. 

But a doctrine that comes in such a questionable 
shape demands investigation. Let us weigh it in 
the balance of the sanctuary. 

" The sins of a Christian are for his good." By 
the good of a Christian, it is presumed his moral 
benefit is meant ; that is, his resemblance to God, 
his restoration to the divine favor, and his partici- 
pation of the divine nature ; but sin, it should be 
recollected, is the very reverse of that nature; 
and it is equally as reasonable to affirm that the 
sickness of an invalid is for the good of his health, 
or the rebellion of a subject is productive of his 
loyalty, or the defeat of a warrior is indicative of 
conquest, or the bondage of a slave is illustrative of 

*Dr. John Collins; " Several Discourses concerning the 
Providence of God." 
t Bogatzky's " Golden Treasury." 



150 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

his liberty, as to aver that the " sins of a Chris- 
tian are for the good" of his soul. Here, too, it 
may be asked, Are all sins for a Christian' 
or some sins only? If the former, then what the 
apostle deemed in his day a lying slander, is now 
become a wholesome truth, tu'z., that we must "do 
evil that good may oome," and " continue in sin 
that grace may abound." But if the latter, that 
some sins only are to do the Christian good, how 
are those which are beneficial to be distinguished 
from those which are pernicious, and the good-pro- 
curing sins to be known from the evil ones? If 
any sins can minister to a Christian's good, it must 
necessarily folio w^that those sins are metamorphi 
into means of grace and divine ordinances to him. 
Nothing can be an instrument of good to man, 
without the Holy Ghost working by and through 
that instrument. All good emanates from God, 
and the object on whom it is bestowed, do less than 
the medium of its communication, must meet His 
approval. Can it therefore be supposed that God 
will so far sanction that which He abhors, that 
which is essentially and absolutely evil, and which 
provokes His heaviest displeasure, as to make it the 
channel of communicating good to His creatu 
and especially of good to His people. Sin in them 
is peculiarly sinful. "You only," said God to 
Israel, "have I known of all the families of the 
earth: therefore will I punish you for all your in- 
iniquities." Their sins were not the instruments of 
good to them, but the means and precursors of 






DEATH OF THfi BODY NOT NECESSARY. 151 

punishment, and punishment enhanced in propor- 
tion to the greatness of the privileges which thej r 
had abused. And sin knows no change, it possesses 
no meliorating or redeeming quality, and it re- 
quires more than mere human testimony to prove 
that God deals less rigorously with the sinners of 
His people now, than He did in the years of ancient 
times. 

But to pursue this inquiry : if " the sins of a 
Christian are for his good," are not the sins of an 
infidel for his good also ? If the former, would 
"not be so well off if he had no sin," by what 
mode of argument can it be proved that the latter 
would be better off without it ? Is sin a benefit to 
one and a bane to another ? Is it a tree of life to a 
Christian but a "root bearing wormwood" to a 
sinner? Does it fit one for heaven, which it must 
do, if it is for his good; and does it prepare the 
other for hell, which it cannot fail to do, if the 
wages of sin is death? And if the sins of a Chris- 
tian are for his good, his virtues, of which those 
sins are the opposite, must be for his injury. It is 
impossible for principles so essentially and irrecon- 
cilably different, as sin and holiness, to co-operate 
in effecting the same object. If, for instance, a 
Christian cannot do so well without pride, then he 
must do better without humility ; if his unbelief is 
beneficial to him, then his faith must be prejudicial; 
if he does well to be angry, then he' does ill to be 
meek and patient. Such are the inferences which, 
in all fairness of construction, flow from the doc- 



152 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

trine that the sins of a Christian are for his good. 
And though the position that " the ever-abid- 
ing sense of our corrupt nature " is the only tiling 
that will make us truly humble is not so directly 
and unblushingly blasphemous, yet it is no less un- 
scriptural in its nature, nor pernicious in its effe 
Virtue can never be directly or indirectly indebted 
to vice for its existence; neither doth corruption 
generate incorruption. There is no such thing as 
turning the incentives of vice into instruments of 
virtue. "Men do not gather - of thorns, nor 

figs of thistle Humility refers to thai low- 

esteem and apprehension which we entertain of our- 
selves when compared with (rod: and, there! 
the humblest beings are those who are farthest re- 
moved from all moral pollution ; and who have an 
abiding sense, not of their corrupt nature, but of 
the glorious majesty and unsullied purity of God, — 
those, " who fall down before Iliin who sitteth upon 
the throne, and worship Him that iiveth and 

ever." And the examples of Job and Isaiah c in- 
firm the truth of this sentiment. The former said, 
U I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but 
now mine eyes seeth thee; therefore I abhor my- 
self, and repent as in dust and ashes " ; and the lat- 
ter, after having a representation of God upon His 
throne, high and lifted up, exclaimed, " Woe is me, 
for I am undone, for I am a man of unclean lips, 
for mine "eyes have seen the King, the Lord of 
Hosts." 

When the Son of God instructed His. disciples in 



DEATH OF THE BODY NOT NECESSARY. 153 

the doctrine of humility, we have no intimations that 
He at all directed them to the consideration of 
"The ever-abiding sense of their corrupt nature"; 
but He said, " Learn of me, for I am meek and 
lowly in heart " ; and St. Paul thus addresses him- 
self to the Philippians, " Let this mind be in you 
which was also in Christ Jesus " ; and to illustrate 
his meaning, he proceeds to speak of the humility of 
Him, who, though He was in the form of God, and 
equal with God, yet took upon Him the form of a ser- 
vant, and became obedient unto death even the death 
of the cross. From such statements we infer, that 
Christian humility is not begotten by considerations 
of the ever-abiding sense of our corrupt nature ; for 
were this the only thing that could humble us, on 
what principle could we account for the humility of 
human happy spirits, who are delivered from the 
burden of the flesh, and who have entered into the 
joy of their Lord? That they are humble, and that 
their humility is untainted by sin, will not be 
denied ; and if genuine humility can be produced 
without the aid of human corruption, is it not ex- 
tremely questionable whether that is not of a 
spurious kind which owes its origin to another 
source? 

That men who have an abiding sense of their 
corrupt nature may be humbled, we grant; but that 
their corruptions humble them, we deny. Is not 
pride the very essence of human corruption ? Is it 
not the root of all evil? Are not hatred, defama- 
tion, strife, debate, envyings, emulations, seditions, 



154 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

heresies, war, bloodshed, and murder, engendered by 
pride ? And can the ever-abiding sense of our 
pride humble us? Can the conscious existence of 
one evil produce an opposite virtue? Would 
not the following sentences be as much op- 
posed to sound sense as to sound divin- 
ity? Nothing will make us truly temperate 
but the ever-abiding sense of our own intemper- 
ance. Nothing will make us truly liberal but the 
ever-abiding sense of our own covetousness. Noth- 
ing will make us truly virtuous but the ever-abiding 
sense of our wickedness. Nothing will make us 
truly loving but the ever-abiding sense of our 
hatred. And if the ever-abiding sense of our cor- 
ruption is the only thing that can make us truly 
humble, it follows, of necessity, that where that 
abiding sense of corruption has no existence, pride 
is the never-failing consequence; in which c 
holiness and high-mindedness would be inseparable 
companions; and proportionally as purity pre- 
vailed, pride would predominate, which is a conclu- 
sion that needs no confutation. And the supposi- 
tion that the existence of sin can either directly or 
indirectly promote the moral advantage of man, is 
of all errors the most to be deprecated; as it nulli- 
fies sin, demolishes the wall of partition, by which 
the Eternal Legislator has marked the boundaries of 
virtue and vice, holds out a more deceitful lure and 
a stronger bait to the perpetration of crime than 
the enemy in the incalculable diversity of his temp- 
tations can present to the mind, and acts like a 



DEATH OF THE BODY XOT XECESSARY. 155 

stupifying opiate to lull to sleep antinomian profes- 
sors on the lap of sin and in the arms of the devil. 
Whatever makes us more like God, or qualifies us 
to imitate Christ, or capacitates us for greater 
happiness, or renders us more useful, must be to our 
advantage ; and all this will be effected by the de- 
struction of sin and the possession of perfect holi- 
ness. Sin dishonors God, reproaches the name of 
Christ, pleases the devil, offends the righteous, and 
hardens the wicked ; and to assert that this can min- 
ister to the benefit of man is such a barefaced, mis- 
chievous falsehood, as allows of no argument, and 
admits of no palliation. 

But it may be questioned, if God wills the de- 
struction of sin in the souls of His people, if His 
power is able to effect it, and if this would be to 
their advantage, why is its destruction so long de- 
layed? The answer is, " Ye have not, because ye 
ask not ; ye ask and receive not, because ye ask 
amiss." God's will does not operate on mind, as 
on matter. In the economy of nature, God said, 
"Let there be light ;" in the economy of grace 
He saith, " Be ye holy ; " and the latter is as much 
the expression of the will of God, as the former ; 
but holiness is not produced in the soul as light 
was created in the world. Inanimate nature is 
passive in the divine hands, and it is in all respects 
what God wills it to be ; but from rational beings 
the will of God meets with resistance. "Ye do al- 
ways resist the Holy Ghost," said Stephen to the 
gainsaying Jews, " as your fathers did, so do you." 



156 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

"How often would I have gathered thy children 
together," said Christ, to Jerusalem, "even as a lien 
gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye 
would not." "Enmity against God/' is the never- 
failing characteristic of the carnal mind ; and until 
the mind be wholly sanctified, and the enmity - 
quered and cast out, the will of God must meet 
with resistance; "For the flesh Lusteth against the 
Spirit, and the Spirit against tie 1 flesh, and these 
are contrary the one to the other"; and they who 
neglect to crucify the flesh with its aft and 

lusts, and to mortify the <1 >eds of the body, t<> 
watch and pray, and believe unto full salvation, will 
fail of the grace of God and fall from their own 
steadfastness. For as (rod wills the means as fully 
as lie does the end, where the former is disregard- 
ed by men, the latter will never be secured by 
God; and the conduct of the M >st High, in dealing 
thus with His creatures, is not arbitrary or 
pricious, but regulated by the laws of eternal jus- 
tice and equity. " For to him that improves what 
lie hath, more shall be given; but from him that 
acts as one that hath not, from him shall be taken 
away even that which for the present he hath. 91 
And though God will have the sole honor of man's 
salvation, yet human actions are so far voluntary, 
and under our own control, that " every man " shall 
be rewarded " according to his works." 

Finally, that sin can be expelled from the soul 
only by the death of the bod}', is an opinion adopt- 



DEATH OF THE BODY XOT XECESSARY. 157 

ed without proof, and maintained without evi- 
dence. 

Assertions may be easily made and reiterated that 
" no man can live without sin," that " there is no 
perfection here," that " sin cannot be destroyed in 
this world" ; but where is the evidence of the truth 
of these assertions ? He who can successfully 
demonstrate the above doctrine, must be possessed 
of superhuman qualifications, and endowed with 
divine prerogatives. He must have an intimate 
and an infallible acquaintance with the individual 
experience of all the generation of God's children, 
of every name and profession, that now adorn the 
gospel of God their Saviour in the Church militant. 
Added to this, he must perfectly understand what 
were the religious attainments of that great multi- 
tude that now stand before " the throne, andjbefore 
the Lamb," ere they quitted their state of probation. 
For only admit the possibility, that in reference to the 
experience of a single saint, he may have no knowl- 
edge, or may be mistaken, and then his competency 
for the imaginary task is at end. Nor is this all : 
he who demonstrates that sin can be expelled from 
the soul only by the death of the body, must find 
out " the Almighty to perfection." He must know 
all that God can do. He must be able to compre- 
hend the utmost acts of Infinite power. He must 
understand also the full efficacy of the blood of the 
atonement, and the inexpressible virtue of the 
Saviour's expiatory sacrifice, with all the sanctify- 



158 CHRISTIAN PERFECT]' 

ing and soul, transforming influences of the Holy 
Ghost which are shed Abundantly upon mankind. 
For if there be any operation of God, any effic 
in the blood of Christ, any influence of the Holy 
Ghost, with which he is unacquainted, that opera- 
tion, efficacy, or influence, may be adequate to the 
destruction of sin, independently of the death of 
the body. And could it be conceived possibL 
find a man endowed with these high prerogatives 
and God-like qualities, yet the point would b 
far from being settled, by any decision of his, fav- 
orable to the doctrine of imperfection and indwell- 
ing sin, that he himself would stand a living or 
to confront his own thesis; as nothing short of sin- 
less and absolute perfection could render him com- 
petent to set the controversy at n 

The opinion, therefore, of the absolute necessity 
of sin's existence until death, can never be demon- 
strated by abstract human testimony. No man can 
prove it. No man will ever so grossly outrage his 
common sense as to attempt to prove it. And to 
say that this doctrine is in the Scripture, would be 
equal to saying that the Bible is the minister of 
sin; and that God has furnished us with a revel- 
ation dishonorable to His purity, derogative to His 
power, and subversive of the very design for which 
that revelation was given. 









CHAPTER VII. 

CHRISTIAN PROFESSORS EXHORTED TO SEEK PER- 
FECTION IN HOLINESS. 

They who with enlightened understandings and 
unbiased judgments investigate the characters of 
the great majority of Christian professors, can 
scarcely fail to observe a most lamentable superfici- 
ality in their religion. How few there are who 
comply with all the requisitions of the New Testa- 
ment ! who live up to the standard of morality 
which the gospel prescribes ! who reflect all the 
lustre of its precepts in their lives ! who imbibe all 
its devotional spirit in their hearts ! who are in- 
flamed with all the zeal of its primitive professors ! 
who, like them, glory only in the cross of Christ! 
whose conversation is in heaven ! who walk in the 
light as God is in the light, and " behold without a 
cloud between the Godhead reconciled ! " who are 
rich in good works, and whose chief ornament is 
that of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight 
of God of great price ! 

Many begin in the Spirit, and commence their 
Christian course by laying aside every weight and 
159 



1 GO ( <HRI8 IT AX PERFECTION. 

the sin which did easily beset them; and for awhile 
they run well ; but by growing weary and faint in 
their minds, they either wholly decline from the 
ways of the Lord, and draw back to perdition or 
else sink into a lukewarm lethargic state, and retain 
little more of godliness than its form. Many lay 
the foundation in repentance from dead works, and 
in faith towards God; but instead of rearing up the 
superstructure, until the headstone shall be brought 
forth with shoutings, they rudely demolish what they 
had previously erected, and incur the censure 
having begun to build without being able to finish. 
Many are adults in profession, who are but babes in 
experience; they have the fickleness of reeds, when 
they might have had the stability of pillars; they 
tarry in the plain, instead of escaping to the moun- 
tain ; and cleave to the dust, when they might soar 
as on the wings of eagles. 

To Christian professors, therefore, we 
on to perfection." Aim at complete hoi ii 
after an entire dedication to God ; strive to excel in 
virtue; bend all your efforts, put forth all your 
energies, and avail yourselves of all your helps, that 
you may be vessels of honor fit for the master's use. 
And remember as the ground of duty, that the 
Author of your being enjoins you to u be perfe 
The highest possible state of perfection of which 
you are capable is imperatively required of yon. 
You can have no powers or capacities for loving 
God, the exercises of which He does not claim. He 
requires the whole heart. Had He required a por- 



CIIRISTIAX PROFESSORS EXHORTED. 161 

tion only, " even were it a large portion, you might 
be puzzled in settling the quantum. You might be 
plotting how large a part you might venture to keep 
back, without absolutely forfeiting your safety ; you 
might be haggling for deductions, bargaining for 
abatements, and be perpetually compromising with 
your Maker; but the injunction is entire, the por- 
tion is unequivocal." And in asking your hearts, 
God requires nothing that is not His indisputable 
and inalienable right. You are not your own. You 
are His workmanship. Your souls, with all their 
faculties, and your bodies, with all their members, 
are His property. You owe your all to God. The 
earth you inhabit is the Lord's, and the fullness 
thereof. His hand feeds you, His power sustains 
you, His mercy spares you. It was His Son who 
redeemed you from hell, His Spirit that awakened 
you from sin, His gospel that promises you all things 
richly to enjoy, and His heaven you expect to share. 
Oh, what vast and incalculable obligations are you 
under to God, — obligations increasing every hour, 
whose number can never be counted^ whose value 
can never be estimated, and whose debt can never 
be discharged. And are you asking, " What shall we 
render to the Lord for all His benefits towards us?" 
The answer is, purify j'ourselves, even as He is 
pure ; do His will in earth as it is done in heaven. 
Perfectly love Him, and worthily magnify His holy 
name. 

As an additional motive to urge you to aspire 
after a state of perfect holiness, remember, that 



162 CHRISTIAN PZEFECTIOX. 

this is the highest dignity and adornment of your 
nature. Holiness is the glory of God, and the honor 
of man. Even in the works of art, the nearer a 
thing approaches to the perfection of it . the 

more it is valued and applauded. Nothing can be 
more extravagantly absurd than the opinion that 
man can be invested with any qualification superior 
in real dignity to mental purity. The highest en- 
dowment God could bestow upon the first human 
pair was His own image; and bo be reinstated in 
that image, which was forfeited and defaced by sin, 
is man's intellectual beauty and supreme exceliei 
All perfections of every kind mw itimated by 

their approach to that primitive perfection of all — 
God Himself; and therefore the participation of His 
nature cannot but entitle a Christian to the highest 
degree of moral elevation. In conformity to God 
all true greatness lies. Titles of worldly honor 
less than nothing and vanity, when put in com] 
tion with the heraldry of heaven. " Religion is a 
heaven-born thing, the seed of God in the spirits of 
men, whereby they are formed to a likeness of Him- 
self." Then delay not to seek it. Never deem any 
sacrifice too great for its attainment: be like the 
merchantman in the gospel, who, when he had 
found one pearl of great price, went and sold all 
that he had, and bought it. 

Christian perfection also commends itself to us 
the source of the purest and most permanent enjoy- 
ment. Man was formed for enjoyment, and naturally 
and necessarily loves it. In all the climes of the 



rlllUSTIAX PROFESSORS EXHORTED. 163 

earth, and among all the gradations of society, enjoy- 
ment is universally and invariably sought; but alas! 
liow rarely is it found ! Can the votaries of wealth 
find it in hoarded heaps of glittering treasures, 
perhaps unjustly wrested from the hand of industry, 
the rust of which shall eat their flesh like fire ? 
Can the competitors for fame find it in vain 
and transitory titles, which death must inevit- 
ably destroy? Can the dupes of pleasure find it 
"in the midnight dances or the public show ? " En- 
joyment springing from carnal sources is, in the 
language of Scripture, feeding " on ashes," or on 
"husks which the swine eat"; which not only 
evinces a depraved appetite, but marks the wretched 
shifts to which those are reduced who spend their 
money for that which is not bread. But he who 
perfectly loves God has, 

•• What nothing earthly gives, or can destroy, 
The soul's calm sunshine, and the heartfelt joy." 

His enjoyment is rational; such as the human 
understanding, in its most enlightened and sancti- 
fied state, must approve, and conscience forever 
justify. It is pure ; seated in a pure heart, a heart 
purified by grace, emanating from a pure principle, 
unmixed by selfishness or pride, and delighting it- 
self in the exercises of pure devotion. It is divine; 
God is its author; it is implanted and sustained by 
Him ; it lives in His smile, and basks in the sun- 
shine of His countenance. It is inexplicable ; what 
language can adequately describe the enjoyment of 
him who is " filled with the Spirit," whose body is 



164 rillUSTIAX PERFECftO 

a temple for the Holy Ghost; whose soul is trans- 
formed into the divine image; where the D 
dwells in His glory; where sin lias no part. Satan 
no dominion; where the strong man is cast out, his 
goods spoiled, and his empire overthrown : and 
where Christ is all, and in all! "For that happi- 
ness inci in proportion with perfection, cannot 
be denied, unless we will at the same time d< 
that the happiness of man e: that of an in- 
fant, or the happiness of an angel that of a man/' 

And can you believe in the possible existence of 
such a stale of evangelical purity and perfection, 
and yet neglecl ? ( Jan von i • he 

interested in your own welfare'/ Has happiness no 
power of attraction? Is there no y in dii 

love? Can you contemplate the inestimable priv- 
ilege and blissful enjoyment of b 
and joint heirs with Christ, with a cold and C 
insensibility? Or do you hope for happiness with- 
out holiness? A degl :it and a l, 
of the heavenly manna you may have in inferior 
Christian attainments; hut a soul tha 
ly sanctified to God, that is sometimes under 1 
government of grace and at other ti: 
by sin, resembles a man who lives on the confi 
of two mighty and contending slates, where hos 
ities are unceasingly maintained, and his peace < 
liable to be interrupted ; while he who is wholly 
the Lord's, like him who lives in the interior of the 
country, enjoys a state of profound tranquillity and 
uninterrupted peace. 



CHRISTIAN PROFESSORS EXHORTED. 165 

Nor is your happiness alone concerned in aspir- 
ing after a state of perfect conformity to God, but 
your safety will be likewise proportionably pro- 
moted. Your state upon earth is perilous in the 
extreme ; danger awaits you in every direction ; 
and all attempts to escape from it, while in the 
body, is impracticable. Live where you may, 
whether in the thronged city, or in the hermit's 
cell, whether on the summit of prosperity, or in the 
vale of indigence, whether associated with Chris- 
tian friends, or surrounded by worldly enemies, 
you stand in jeopardy every hour. You are in dan- 
ger of forsaking "the fountain of living water, of 
turning from the holy commandment delivered unto 
you, of doing 'despite unto the Spirit of grace' of 
counting 'the blood of the covenant an unholy 
thing,' of making the light that is in you become 
darkness, and rendering yourselves like the earth 
which 'beareth thorns and briers,' which ' is nigh 
unto cursing, whose end is to be burned.' r Apos- 
tasy from God is a most heinous crime ; the inspired 
writers paint it in the darkest colors, and brand it 
with the most odious epithets ; its malignity rises 
in proportion to the light we extinguish, the 
mercies we abuse, the obligations we violate, and 
the heaven we forfeit. And it is an enormity com- 
mittable only by Christian professors. There is no 
apostatizing from hypocrisy ; where Christianity was 
never followed, it can never be forsaken. Faith 
must be possessed ere it can be shipwrecked. The 
branch that was never united to the vine, cannot 



1G6 CHRIS TIAX PERFECTION. 

be dissevered from it ; nor can you entertain any 
reasonable expectation of being saved from 
sy, except by aiming at perfection, and 
towards the mark for the prize of your high calling 
of God in Christ Jesus. Hence the author of the 
epistle to the Hebrews, after having referred to the 
apostasy of those who were once enlightened, and 
had tasted of the heavenly gift, and the powers of 
the world to come, adds. " We desire that e\ 
one of you do show the same diligence to the full 
assurance of hope unto the end.*' And tlu- Apostle 
Peter, in guarding believers againsl 
" Ye, there lore, bel know thes 

before, beware lesl ye also, being led away with 
error of the wicked, fall from your own stead! 

." And then, as an antidote to this falling 
away, he exhorts them, u But grow in grace, and in 
the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour J< 
Christ." 

God's Church is His army, "His militant em- 
bodied host." Christianity throughout is a warfi 
and all believers are soldiers of Christ. He is the 
captain of their salvation; they are enlisted under 
His banners, invested with the armor of righteous- 
ness, and clad in the panoply of Cod. Those who 
aim at the total overthrow of their foes, who v. ax 
valiant in fight, stand fast in the faith, and quit 
themselves like men, will soon put their feet on the 
necks of all their enemies; for the Lord of II< 
who is "mighty in battle," will gird them with 
strength, and give them the victory. But they 



CHRISTIAN PROFESSORS EXHORTED. 167 

who do not conquer will be conquered ; they who 
do not advance must decline. The enemies of our 
salvation will prevail over us if we cease to assail 
them. A truce with hell is war with heaven. We 
are never so secure as while we are actually fight- 
ing. We find St. Paul a man of miracles and vis- 
ions, and a sanctity of life more glorious than 
either, even while he was daily fought against from 
without by the malice of Satan and evil men ; yet 
as if this were not mortification enough, we find 
him moreover fighting against himself, casting down 
his mind, as he calls it, and beating down his body 
and bodily affections. Nor can we incline to think 
that St. Paul did this, either from the affectation of 
singularity, or from a principle of vainglory, or 
from a pretence to supererogation, or by a simple 
mistake of judgment. No, he tells us himself, that 
he did it for no less reason than this, viz., lest for 
want of this discipline, he might possibly be a cast- 
away. And if he were fain to maintain this fight 
for fear of being a castaway, who among Christians 
can lay down their arms ? 

Our safety, therefore, can be promoted only by 
our advancement in the divine life. The love of 
God is the most effectual preservative against sin. 
It was this principle that gave birth to Joseph's 
expostulation, " How can I do this great wicked- 
ness, and sin against God?" Not, how can I ex- 
pose myself to the hazard of discovery, to the pain 
of repentance, or the punishment of sin ? No, the 
affront and insult that would by such an act of 



168 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

wickedness be offered to God, occupied all his 
thoughts. And though our probationary state 
must ever be considered a state of infinite hazard 
and danger, yet, as far as safety can be attained on 
earth, he in whcmi the love of God is perfected 
possesses it. Every now triumph obtained over 
temptation inspires him with additional strength 
for superior conquests, and weakens the power of 
resistance on the part of his enemies: and thus, by 
a patient continuance in well-doing, he abides un- 
der the shadow of the Almighty, jtant 
supplies of hallowing grace, and is kepi from fall- 
ing, and will finally be presented faultless before 
the presence of God's glory, with exceeding joy. 

You, therefore, who deprecate any declension in 
religion, any apostasy from God, any fearful look- 
ing for of judgment, or fiery indignation to devour 
your souls, seek for full salvation, pant for perfect 
holiness, follow hard after God, — 

''Toward the mark unwearied ]»r» 
Seize the crown of righte0U8H< 

Christian perfection will also capacitate you for 
extensive usefulness. In a subordin se, man 

is formed for the benefit of man. lie who does no 
good is a mere blank in creation ; and as far as 
ciety is concerned, he is dead even while he lives. 
You cannot serve your Maker more acceptably than 
by seeking to promote the spiritual and eternal 
happiness of His immortal offspring; and by loving 
Him with all your heart, and your neighbor as 
yourself, you w r ill be brought under the influence of 



CHRISTIAN PROFESSORS EXHORTED. 169 

the most legitimate principle, and the most efficient 
incentive to do good. How powerless is the love 
of praise, or the desire of distinction, or the sympa- 
thy of nature, when put in competition with Chris- 
tian benevolence, — benevolence rooted and ground- 
ed in divine love, looking abroad over the whole 
human family, and extending its sympathies and 
succors to the utmost bounds of our ability, and 
diffusing a hallowing and Godlike influence in 
every direction. Men of eminent piety cannot fail 
to excite attention and command respect. The un- 
godly are often awed and convicted by the power 
of their example, and won to obey the word by 
their chaste conversation. Hence said Christ to 
His disciples, " Let your light so shine before men, 
that they may see your good works, and glorify 
your Father which is in heaven." Added to this, 
God honors them most who honor Him most. The 
holiest saints are the most successful instruments of 
good to society ; their prayers are most prevalent 
with God, and their example is most influential 
among men. And this is a further reason why pro- 
fessing Christians should aspire after perfect holi- 
ness : that they may do good, offer the most accept- 
able sacrifice to God, emulate the example of Him 
who went about doing good, advance the cause of 
Christianity in the world, swell the tide of human 
happiness, save souls from death, and lay up for 
themselves a good foundation against the time to 
come; for they that have done good, shall have a 
resurrection unto eternal life. 



170 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

In fine, perfection in holiness is the sole qualifica- 
tion for heaven. Heaven is the region of purity. 
Does the Bible describe it? It is called a "holy 
place," a "holy city," a " holy hill," and a " holy 
heaven," into which nothing entereth that delileth. 
Does it describe its inhabitants? They are the 
holy angels, holy prophets, holy apostles, the spirits 
of just men made perfect, with all those who " have 
washed their robes and made them white in the 
blood of the Lamb." Does it describe their em- 
ployment? "They sing the song of Moses the 
servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, 
Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Al- 
mighty. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and 
glorify thy name, for thou only art holy?" D 
it describe the necessary qualification, or m< 
for this employment? It is "holiness, without 
which no man shall see the Lord." Then what can 
be more truly estimable, or more seriously and uni- 
versally important, than the attainment of such a 
state? To have a moral fitness for heaven, a quali- 
fication for the society of immortals. To be " all 
glorious within," " ready winged for the flight," 
and desiring "to depart and be with Christ, which is 
far better." And when we consider our circum- 
stances in the world, that " here we have no contin- 
uing city"; that we are every moment borne on- 
ward by the rapid and irresistible tide of time : 
that the decree is gone forth against us, which can 
neither be resisted nor evaded, which dooms us to 
death ; that the tenure by which life is held, is frail 



CHRISTIAN PROFESSORS EXHORTED. Ill 

and precarious ; and that " the Son of man cometh 
at an hour when " we " think not," then how pow- 
erfully are we impelled to work while it is day ; to 
prepare for eternity, and to wait for our summons. 

" Fix'd as a sentinel, all eye, all ear, 
All expectation of the coming foe.*' 



CHAPTER VIII. 

DIRECTIONS TO PROFESSING CHRISTIANS, HOW TO 
ATTAIN TO A STATE OF PERFECT HOLINE 

As professors of Christianity, it is presumed that 
you are already acquainted with the power of god- 
liness. Your profession is not merely nominal, you 
have a name that you live, and you have really 
passed from death unto life. With your hearts you 
have believed unto righteom md with your 

mouths made confession unto salvation. Christian- 
ity, therefore, with yon, is not deemed a ennui 
devised fable, nor treated as a matter of doubtful 
disputation; you know whom you have believed, 
and can set to your seal that God is true; but for 
want of pressing onward in religion, and showing 
the same diligence which you evinced in the earlier 
stages of your Christian pilgrimage, your prog 
sion in the ways of piety has not kept pace with 
your privileges. Instead of being filled with the 
fruits of righteousness, these fruits are yet in a state 
of imperfection. You are not entirely under the 
dominion of grace ; depraved passions, and habits 
of evil, the power of which was broken in regenera- 
172 



DIRECTIONS TO PROFESSING CHRISTIANS. 173 

tion, have again striven for the mastery; and in- 
stead of having Satan bruised under your feet, and 
his alien hosts put to flight, you have at times been _ 
ensnared by the enemy, and brought into condem- 
nation. But to continue in this state, with this 
bent to backsliding, this tendency to evil, and this 
proneness to depart from God during the whole of 
your probationary life, is not necessary. God hath 
called you to holiness, perfect holiness, holiness in 
all manner of conversation. But as every estimable 
endowment, whether intellectual or moral, is usually 
attained by laborious and persevering effort; and 
as holiness must be sought ere it can be found, we 
will look at the means necessary to be adopted, that 
we may be brought into this state of perfect con- 
formity to God. 

And here it must be obvious that faith is indis- 
pensably requisite to Christian perfection. Faith is 
the principle by which we apprehend spiritual and 
invisible objects. It is considered in the Scriptures 
as analogous to vision. "Now we see through a 
glass darkly." "We look not at the things which 
are seen, but at the things which are not seen/' 
" Abraham rejoiced to see my day ; and he saw it, 
and was glad/' Moses " endured, as seeing him 
who is invisible." " Faith is the substance of 
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen " ; 
it is that which makes evident, as by demonstration, 
those things which are not the objects of sense, and 
which reason cannot comprehend. The Bible is the 
mirror of divine truth; and it is the province of 



174 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

faith, to behold what that mirror reflects. Through 
the medium of revelation, the events of past 
ages are made visible to the eye of faith. For, 
" through faith we understand that the worlds v. 
framed by the word of God; so that things which 
are seen were not made of those tinners which do 
appear." Futurity also, by the same medium, is 
disclosed to view. Realities, awfully sublime and 
deeply mysterious, rise in all their majesty, in dis- 
tant but luminous prospective t<> the gaze of faith. 
But the oracles of God principally portray our 
present privileges, and the rich enjoyments we 
now entitled to expect; it reveals to us thi 
which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor h< 
conceived; and faith is the mind's perceptive facul- 
ty, the mental sight directed to view the land oi 
evangelical promise, and the wide rang< 
truth, and it is to the spiritual world what - 
to the natural. But the mere perusal, or even the 
study of Scripture verities will no more beget faith 
in our souls, than the act of reading a dissertation 
on the qualities of food will afford nutriment to our 
bodies. By the assistance of our natural eye-sight, 
we may know the letter of Scripture; for the 
light of sense and reason can capacitate us for de- 
termining on its literal signification, but we must 
have spiritual ej^e-sight and divine illumination, 
before we can know what is the mind of the Spirit, 
and what is the hope of our calling, and what the 
riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. 
As no man will aspire after the inestimable 



blRECTIOXS TO PROFESSING CHRISTIANS. 175 

privileges of Christianity, unless he perceive their 
superlative excellency, and as this can be realized 
only by the power of faith, we may easily discover 
why those who desire to attain to perfect holiness 
should not only possess faith, but pray for an in- 
crease of it. Faith has it degrees ; it may be small 
in its beginning, and appear only as a grain of mus- 
tard-seed ; but it is capable of progress and ad- 
vancement. We read of faith growing exceeding- 
ly ; and of the furtherance, as well as the joy of 
faith. And as the form and fashion of a distant 
object, whatever lustre may be thrown around it, 
must be more or less perceptible according to the 
strength or weakness of the visual orb ; so the 
beauties of holiness, and the unsearchable riches of 
Christ, as exhibited in the gospel, will be more or 
less apparent, according to the perceptive power, or 
feebleness of faith. A defect in our faith, like a 
blemish in the eye, will produce imperfect vision ; 
we may behold an object, but it will be dimly and 
indistinctly seen. The landscape may be visible, 
but instead of smiling in its native loveliness, and 
presenting an interminable prospect of unfading 
verdure, it may seem desolate and barren, and be so 
environed by inaccessible rocks, as to prohibit all 
possibility of access. Preconceived notions of the 
utter impossibility of being saved from sin in this 
world will as effectually prevent the perception of 
faith, as dust thrown in the eyes will extinguish 
the sense of vision. And genuine faith not only 
possesses the power of perception, but of motion. 



176 I'lIttlSTIAX PERFECT!' 

It moves the mind to act ; for there is a spirit in 
faith which is powerfully operative. The ex- 
ploits of faitli are prodigious. It dares all dan- 
surmounts all difficulties, conquers all enemies, 
silences all doubts, runs all risks, and achieves all 
victories; and in proportion to the clearness of 
faith's perceptions, so will be the power of its voli- 
tions and the might of its movements. He who lias 
the most clear and vivid perceptions of the value 
and attainableness of an object, will be moved to 
seek it with the greatest diligence, and induced to 
forego the most painful privations for its acquire- 
ment. The vigorous efforts made to preserve health 
when J" I, and to recover it when lost : the 

voyages undertaken, the regimen submitted to, the 

inflictions sustained, all proclaim the strength of 
faith's perceptions in the estimated excel! 
health, and the power of its acts, in risking so much 
for its attainment. Unbelief achieves nothing be- 
cause it sees nothing; it is motionless, because it is 
sightless; it possesses no attraction, because it 
makes no discovery; it lias an obdurate heart, be- 
cause it has a darkened understanding. In common 
life, faith is indispensable; it is the mainspring 
activity in all that is daring and hazardous ; faitli 
gives birth to heroism, and unbelief to cowardice in 
every department of society. In seeking perfect 
holiness, faith must take the precedence. " Believe 
ye," said Christ to the blind men who sought to 
have their eyes opened, " That I am able to do 
this? " What if they had answered in the negative. 



DIRECTIONS TO PROFKSSIXG CHRISTIANS. Ill 

or expressed themselves doubtfully in reference to 
the ability of Christ ? Would the miracle have 
been performed ? Would not their unbelief have 
thrown an insuperable barrier in the way of their 
being healed? But their faith capacitated them 
for receiving their sight, and Jesus said, " Accord- 
ing to your faith be it unto you." Now we should 
subject ourselves to an inquiry similar to that which 
Christ submitted to the blind men, Do we believe 
that Christ can make us holy ? Is He able to do 
this for us ? Are we persuaded that holiness, per- 
fect holiness, is our privilege ? — that there is a pos- 
sibility for us to be brought into such a state as to 
be unblamable and unreprovable in the sight of 
God? 

To faith we must add diligence. Faith does not 
destroy diligence, but directs it to its right object, 
and furnishes motives and materials for its operation. 
Because the husbandman believes that his lands, 
under the direction of prudent management and cul- 
tivation, will produce a crop, he therefore plows up 
the soil, breaks the clods, casts in the precious seed, 
and exercises long patience in waiting for the har- 
vest. To believe the end will be secured without 
the use of the means, savors more of Antinomian 
delusion, than Christian confidence. And can it be 
conceived that Christian diligence is less necessary, 
or less contributive to our spiritual advantage? So 
far from this, that while the most diligent attention 
to our secular concerns is sometimes balked of its 
expectations, Christian diligence is never unsuccess- 



178 CHRIS Tl AN PERFECTIOX. 

ful, nor can it be ever inexpedient. It is the guardian 
of virtue, the shield of safety, the progenitor of pe; 
the antidote to apostasy, and the insurance of re- 
ward. Without it all that we have gained will be 
forfeited; the tide of temptation that sets ii. 
strongly upon us, will inevitably bear us away, unless 
we tug at the oar with unremitting diligence. With- 
out it, no spiritual victories can be won, no holy 
habits acquired, do darling lusts sacrificed, and no 
heavenward advancement mafic. But let us riot 
misunderstand this subject : Christian dilige 
differs widely from dissipation ; it is not religious 
gossip; it is not running with the multitude to hear 
some favorite preacher; nor is it dependent on 
external forms and ordinances: but it is the devo- 
tion of the inner man to the great concerns of reli- 
gion; it is the mind, strong in the strength which 
God supplies, shaking off its carnal lethargy and 
spiritual sloth, and bending all its faculties and 
energies to the performance of every evangelical 
duty, and to the acquirement of every gospel 
blessing. 

Be diligent, therefore, in doing all that God re- 
quires of you. Begin with self-examination : com- 
mune with your own hearts, study your own charac- 
ters, and weigh all your actions in the balance 
the sanctuary. Deception is one of the commonest 
things in the world, especially self-deception, Men 
are fond of flattery ; they not only suffer other- 
impose upon them, but they impose upon themselves, 
and thus offer incense to their own vanity ; but 



DIUECTIOXS TO PROFESSING CH&IStlANS. 179 

self-examination will enable you to detect the evils 
of your hearts, to find out the vain thoughts that 
lodge within you, to enter into the chambers of 
imagery where idols are set up in the temple of God, 
to trace actions to their principles, to discriminate 
between that which is spiritual and that which is 
carnal, and to know yourselves as you are known of 
Him with whom you have to do. But to perform 
this work successfully, you must do it frequently ; 
embrace every opportunity for doing it ; let it be a 
part of your e very-day duty. And do it faithfully ; 
suffer not yourselves to be blinded by self-love ; be 
broad awake to your own defects; fearlessly sound 
the depths of your depravity; commune with your 
own hearts, and let your spirits, with scrutinizing 
research, detect all your errors. And do it depen- 
dent! //, in dependence on divine aid. Remember 
"the heart is deceitful above all things, and desper- 
ately wicked : who can know it ? I, the Lord search 
the heart." Oh, pray that He may assist you to 
search it also. Take the torch of truth in your 
hands, and come to the light, that your deeds may 
be manifest. 

The office of sanctification, or rendering the soul 
perfect in divine love, is not unfrequently attributed 
to the Third Person in the ever-blessed Trinity, 
who is denominated the Holy Spirit, and who is 
sent by the Father, in the name of the Son, to 
work in us " to will and to do of his own good 
pleasure.** He is called the Holy Spirit, not merely 
because He is essentially holy in Himself, but as He 



180 (JIIRIsTLA.X PERFECTION. 

is the source of holiness to us ; producing in us all 
the fruits of holiness; cleansing and beautifying 
our souls that He may dwell in us, and make us the 
temples of His holiness ; for we are washed. - 
tilled, and justified, "in the name of the Lord 
Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." And by the 
hind and condescending testimony of our Saviour, 
we are encouraged to expect, in answer to our 
prayers, that we shall secure the gift of the Holy 
Spirit, in all the plenitude of His influence. "For 
if ye, being evil, know how to give -nod gifts unto 
your children, how much more shall your heavenly 
Father give His Holy Spirit to them that ask him." 
But prayer, to be acceptable and availing, musl pos- 
sess a peculiar character. It is when we ask accord- 
ing to God's will that He promises to hear us. 
There must be in prayer a devout and constani 
ognition of "Jesus, the Mediator of the new c 
nant," and a direct reference to His meritorious and 
all-prevalent sacrifice, as the only medium of 
cess to God. Jesus Christ is the High Priest of 
our profession. He, through the Eternal Spirit, of- 
fered Himself without spot to God : and havjng 
purged our sins, lie sit down on the right hand of 
the Majesty on high : there lie appears in the \ 
ence of God for us; there He offers up the prayers 
of all saints, upon the golden altar of incense which is 
before the throne ; and our prayers are successful 
because His are availing. God hears us because 
He hears His Son; we must, therefore, ask in His 
name, and make mention of His righteousness, even 



DIRECTIONS TO PROFESSING CHRISTIANS. 181 

of His only. We must plead the merits of His 
death, and the virtue of His atonement, and believe 
that because Christ ever liveth to make interces- 
sion for us, that God will not turn away our prayer, 
nor His mercy from us. There must also be in our 
prayers an entire concentration of all our desires. 
The heart must not be divided ; we must devoutly 
desire what we pray for ; and all desires of a hos- 
tile or a rival nature must be subordinated and sub- 
dued. He who would pray successfully for the 
total abolition and destruction of all sin, must 
sincerely and heartily desire that destruction. 
There must be no mental reservation, no sparing of 
our idols, no indulgence of sensual appetites, or 
irascible propensities ; for if we regard iniquity in 
our heart, the Lord will not hear us. Our praj^ers 
must also possess a fervent, agonizing character. 
Jacob " wept, and made supplication " in his 
prayer; and " by his strength he had power with 
God." Elijah " prayed earnestly," or as the phrase 
imports, prayed in prayer, an expression among the 
Hebrews which signifies vehemency of spirit. David 
said, " Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O 
Lord." Christ was in an agony when He prayed. 
Fervency in prayer, springs out of a profound and 
heart-felt conviction of our necessities ; and it is 
associated with a hungering and thirsting after 
righteousness, a restless agony of soul that seizes 
on the promised blessing, and takes the kingdom of 
heaven by violence. And to the fervency of prayer 
we must join importunity. " Continue in prayer," 



1S2 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

and "pray without ceasing,'' are apostolic admoni- 
tions. The fiercest fire is frequently - 
tinguished ; and there may be the glow of devotion 
without its permanency. Many have warm afl 
tions but inconstant pur] But Jesus Christ 

"spake a parable to this end, that men ought 
always to pray and not to faint"; and from the 
circumstance of an unjust judge doing a poor widow 
justice against her adversary, because she was im- 
portunate in urging her petition, He encoura 
His disciples to believe that "God will his 

own elect, who cry day and night unto him." Our 
petitions arc not always answered as sm>\\ , 

are presented \ nor the door opened 

begin to knock ; nor do wc always find n as 

we seek. With the prophet we may be n 
exclaim, "When I cry and shout, he shutteth out 
my prayer." God, for wise but in rea- 

sons, may delay to answer our supplies but 

Q that delay should make US more uv. lici- 

tous and importunate. Our Saviour r< teth 

one friend, yielding needful succor unto anol 
not barely upon the score of friendship, but for his 
importunity, or as the word means, his impv 
that is, such importunity and urgency as would take 
no denial. u So doth God, in such cases, allow and 
oblige us to deal with Him, being instant and perti- 
nacious in our requests ; giving Him no the 
phrase is in the prophet; not enduring to be put 
off, or brooking an}' repulse; never being discour- 
aged, or cast into despair by any delay or semblance 



DIRECTIONS TO PROFESSING CHRISTIANS. 183 

of neglect. We may wrestle with God, like Jacob, 
and with Jacob may say, 'I will not let thee go, 
except thou bless me.' Thus God suffereth Him- 
self to be prevailed upon, and is willingly overcome ; 
thus Omnipotence may be mastered, and a happy 
victory may be gained over Invincibility itself." 

And to Christian diligence we must add a be- 
lieving, confident expectation, that God will now 
accomplish His great and precious promises in our 
complete deliverance from sin. By some unac- 
countable propensity in human nature, mankind 
almost universally and instinctively act upon a sys- 
tem of procrastination in reference to their immor- 
tal interests. The sinner who knows that inevitable 
and eternal ruin awaits him if he pursue his sinful 
course of conduct, yet hesitates to turn to God 
now; the penitent, groaning under the burden of 
sin, who feels the necessity of obtaining pardon, 
instead of realizing the present blessing, looks for- 
ward to some distant and more auspicious period 
for its reception ; and the Christian, who unhesi- 
tatingly believes that God can make him holy, and 
who desires holiness above every other thing, yet 
finds a backwardness to believe that God will now 
perfect that which concerneth him. It is to be 
feared that there are individuals who deceive them- 
selves by entertaining an opinion that faith is as 
fully the gift of God in the economy of redemption 
as light is the gift of God in the economy of nature ; 
and therefore, lest they should rob God of His 
glory, they make no effort to believe. But if man 



184 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

is responsible for his belief ; if his faith is the con- 
dition or indispensable terms of his salvation ; if he 
is exhorted and commanded to believe, and is con- 
demned already for not believing ; then there must 
be some supposable cases where the act of believing 
does not accompany the power to believe; and 
where faith becomes our duty, there unbelief must 
be our sin. "The grace or power to believe, and 
the act of believing, are two different things. 
Without the grace or power to believe, no man i 
did or can believe; but with that power the act of 
faith is a man's own. God never believes for any 
man, any more than lie repents for him." 

In reference to temporal and providential br- 
ings, the mere belief is utterly unavailing. The 
sunshine will ripen the husbandman's harvest, and 
the rains fertilize his grounds, independently of 
his belief; but as to spiritual good, faith mini-' 
most efficaciously to its attainment. In the com- 
mencement of our divine life God is always found 
of them that seek Him not; and He manif 
Himself to them who ask not after Him. He pre- 
vents us with the blessings of His goodness. But 
in the progress of that life, we must expect ere we 
can enjoy, and believe before we shall be perfected. 
God never bestows the blessings of pardon and 
sanctification without previously exciting an ardent 
desire in the soul after these blessings, and an ex- 
pectation that we shall receive them. Many suffer 
their desires to languish, and their hopes to flag, by 
an assumption that sanctification is a progres- 



DIRECTIONS TO PROFESSING CHRISTIANS. 185 

work, and tnat it is presumptuous to look for a 
complete deliverance from sin unless we are sub- 
jected to some preparatory and long-continued 
process. God does prepare the heart for His re- 
ception before He takes the entire possession of it. 
But where there is a consciousness of innate deprav- 
ity ; where the soul is brought to groan under the 
burden of indwelling sin ; where there is a sincere 
desire and an intense fervency of spirit awakened 
after an entire conformity to God, combined with a 
full belief in the infinite efficacy of the blood of 
the atonement, there the mind is fully fitted for the 
complete salvation of the gospel. Nor can an}- de- 
lay in our expectations, any mortification of our 
corruptions, any austerities practiced upon our 
bodies make us more worthy of the promise of that 
spirit which they that believe in Christ shall re- 
ceive. You, therefore, who feel your need of per- 
fect holiness, who deem it more precious than ru- 
bies, who are seeking it in the use of all the ap- 
pointed means of grace, and whose souls are follow- 
ing hard after God; oh, expect the fulfillment of 
His promise, upon which He has caused you to 
hope. " Faithful is He that calleth you, who also 
will do it." " Behold now is the accepted time, be- 
hold now is the day of salvation." Let it become 
a day of salvation to you ; expect it instantly ; re- 
member the work is all divine; and "Is anything 
too hard for the Lord ? " "I bring near," saith He, 
"my righteousness; it shall not be far off; and my 
salvation shall not tarry. I will place salvation hi 



18G RISTIAN PERFECTION. 

Zion for Israel my glory." "Therefore as the eyes 
of servants look unto the hand of their masters, 
and as the eyes of a maiden, unto the hand of her 
mistress," so let your eyes wait upon the Lord 

your God, until lie have mercy upon you; and if 
the accomplishment of the promise should be de- 
layed, if all your hopes should seem to issue in dis- 
appointment, if no profit appear to you in keeping 
God's ordinances ; yet, " Cast not away, therefore, 
your confidence, which hath great recompence of 
reward." 

Sometimes the blessing is nearest when, to our 
apprehension, it seems the most distant ; that dark- 
ness is often the most profound which immediately 
precedes the dawning of day; and the strongman 
armed may struggle hardest to retain his usurped 
and long-continued dominion when he is on the 
point of being completely and finally dispossessed. 
Therefore, be not dismayed nor discouraged, either 
by a sense of your unworthiness or by the hardness 
of your hearts or the coldness of your affections or 
the greatness of the salvation you are seeking to 
secure or its apparent distance from you. With 
David, wait " patiently for the Lord," not listlessly, 
but believingly and confidently. Faith not only 
surveys the blessing of perfect love as an exalted 
and most inestimable privilege, and looks at the 
promise tliat guarantees and secures that blessing 
to the seeking soul, but clings to it, claims it as its 
own, depends upon the veracity of Him who is 
mighty to save, hold of His strength, and re- 

the full benefit of His atonement. 



- TO PBOFESSINQ CHRISTIANS, 187 

Amidsl the variety of miraculous achievements 
attributed to the Old Testament saints, it is dis- 
tinctly stated that through faith they "received 
promises," that is, the blessings promised; and the 
character of their faith was, a judging u him faith- 
ful who had promised." (tod hath, in the pleni- 
tude of His mercy, given us promises; promises 
which secure to tis a supply of all our need; prom- 
founded on the immutability of His divine na- 
ture : and it is impossible for God to lie ; lie cannot 
deny himself. But there is a condition upon which 
His promises are suspended, and with that condi- 
tion you must comply. "Said I not unto thee," 

i Christ unto one individual, " that if thou 

wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of 

And Jesus said unto another, "If thou 

canst believe, all things are possible to him that be- 

lierveth." Here, then, is the hinge on which your 

ation must turn ; God will have your confi- 
dence ; you, too, must judge Him faithful who hath 
promised. "If ye will not believe, surely ye shall 
not be established." Salvation is of the Lord; but 
though it is by grace, yet it is through faith ; and 
faith is an act of recumbency on our part, a resting 
upon the divine promise, and a believing that what 
romised, lie is able and willing this 1110- 
i perform. "Oh, strive to cherish this wmi- 

-working principle. Abandon your distrustful 
S gger let at tin* promise through unbe- 
lief; confident! 'tod's uttermost salvation 5 
and expect that lie will now destroy the man of 



188 



CHRIS Tl AN PERFECTION. 






sin by the breath of His mouth ; and your expecta- 
tion shall not be cut off; fur the "Lord, whom ye 
seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the 
messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: 
behold he shall come, saith the Lord of Hostb." 






CHAPTER IX. 

ADVICE TO THOSE WHO PROFESS TO BE PERFECTED 
IN THE LOVE OF GOD. 

To you who profess to have attained perfection 
in holiness, I would suggest a few words of advice. 
If your profession be genuine, you will gladly 
receive instruction. For though you know the will 
of God, and are established in the present truth, yet 
there are deceits of the world, and devices of the 
devil, of which you may possibly be ignorant; and 
as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so 
your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity 
which is in Christ. Let me, therefore, strive to stir 
up your pure minds by way of remembrance ; 
and may the Lord give you understanding in all 
things. 

I. Take heed that ye be not deceived. The 
possibility of this you cannot doubt. The heart is 
full of deceit. Many seek death in the error of their 
life ; delusions the most fearful and fatal are abroad 
in the world. Christianity, as a whole, is the most 
profound of all sciences ; it embraces the loftiest and 
most mysterious subjects. Its exercises are purely 
189 



190 CHRIS Tl AX PERFECTIOX. 

mental. Man has a great moral disinclination to 
its restraints ; and deceptions concerning Scriptural 
Christianity, and our personal interest in its benefits, 
are widely and awfully prevalent. How often have 
a few transient tears or compunctions of conscience 
been substituted for repentance! In how many 
instances lias the mere glow of animal feeling h 
put for joy in the Holy Ghost! How many have 
supposed that Clod lias sanctified their souls, because 
they have been made unusually happy! or because 
they have been powerfully impressed with this 
thought! or because they have dreamt diva 
cerningit! or because some text of Scripture illus- 
trative of the subject has been applied to their 
minds! All of which may exist independent of per- 
fect holiness. Therefore, be on your guard against 
deception. Do not hastily and prematurely conclude 
that the body of sin is completely destroyed, or that 
the old man is entirely crucified. Animal functions 
may be suspended when vitality is n net. 

Weeds may be cropped so as to be scarcely visible, 
even when they are gathering additional strength 
at their roots, and ready to burst forth in new off- 
sets. Carnal principles cannot be always in full 
operation; they are sometimes comparatively quies- 
cent, and the motions of sin are scarcely perceptible. 
There may be, also, unusual tokens of the di\ 
favor imparted to the soul, strong consolations com- 
municated, times of refreshing from the presence 
the Lord; and these things may lead you ti) c 
elude that you have that perfect love which casteth 



1 



ADVICE TO PROFESSORS. 191 

out fear ; especially, when you find death disarmed 
of its sting, and the grave of its terrors. Great 
precaution and circumspection, and self-examination 
should, therefore, be used before you come to a con- 
clusion that God hath cleansed you from all 
unrighteousness. Deception is common, but it is 
not necessary; you need not be of a doubtful mind. 
Christianity carries with it a strong commanding 
evidence; a meridian evidence, that puts doubt to 
flight. God sets his zeal upon the conscience, and 
His Spirit bears witness with our spirits when we 
first become His children ; and this witness will be 
proportionably stronger and brighter, as we grow 
up into Christ, our living head, in all tilings. The 
first dawn of religion in the souls of men may be but 
as the wings of the morning spreading themselves 
upon the mountains, yet it gradually attains to a 
meridian altitude. The path of the just is as the 
shining light; and that light will shine with more 
direct and refulgent brilliance as it approaches the 
meridian than when it first beams upon the earth. 
And as the witness of the Spirit will be invariably 
attended by the fruits of the Spirit, you should en- 
quire, are we in possession of these fruits? "The 
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, p£ace, longsuffering, 
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. " 
Do these, fruits abound in you, and are you filled 
with them? Is your love to God made perfect? 
Does it occupy your whole souls? Has it burned 
up the dross of base desire ? Has it extinguished 
every unhallowed passion, and supplanted every 



192 CIIRISTIAX PERFECTION. 

opposing principle? Is God your theme, your in- 
spiration, and your joy? Is it your meat and drink 
to do His will? Does the light of His countenance 
shine with cloudless majesty upon your souls? Do 
you drink out of His pleasures as out of a river? 
Are your souls so satiated with the delights of His 
love as to lose all relish for carnal pleasures and 
earth-born joys'/ And can you endure all things for 
His sake? Are you recqnciled to suffer with Him, 
that you may reign with Him? Do you glory in 
tribulation? Can yon adopt the following senti- 
ments as your own ? — 

" Welcome, alike the crown or Cr088, 
Trouble I cannot ask. imr pea* 
Nor toil, nor rest. DOT gain, nor Io8S, 

Nor joy, nor grief, nor pain, nor ease, 
Nor life, nor death; but ever groan, 
Father, Thy only will be done. 91 

And have yon power over all sin? When all 
ments present themselves, are yon proof against 
them? Has the enemy nothing of his own nature 
within you to work upon ? Is his kingdom demol- 
ished? Are his goods spoiled? And is he himself 
cast out? Do }'0u love your neighbors as yourselvi 
Do you consult their interests as your own'/ Do 
you hide the faults you see? Do you, according to 
your ability, minister to the necessities of your in- 
digent, suffering fellow-creatures? Do you seek to 
bring into the way of truth such as have erred and 
are deceived? And do you perform all these a 
with a willing mind? — because you love God, and 



ADVICE TO PROFESSORS. 193 

because with such sacrifices God is well pleased. 
By thus proving your own selves, communing with 
your own hearts, and seeking by fervent and im- 
portunate prayer the " unction from the Holy 
One," that " you may know all things," you will be 
enabled to form a correct estimate of your charac- 
ter, and a real Scriptural knowledge of your state; 
and will obtain an assurance that God has sanctified 
your souls, and fully renewed you in His image. 

H. Prize your privileges. Think highly of that 
state of grace, of pure unmerited favor, which God 
has called you to enjoy. It is not a light thing to 
be saved from your enemies, and from the hands of 
all who hate you ; to be rescued from the tyranny 
of the devil, delivered from the power of darkness, 
and translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son, 
to have a clean heart, and a right spirit ; a spirit 
right in itself, tending to the perfection of its na- 
ture ; right towards God ; one with God by an in- 
explicable and eternal union; and right towards 
man by the tenderest sympathies and the most en- 
larged benevolence. To be in possession of perfect 
holiness is a privilege of inestimable value, a treas- 
ure more precious than silver or gold, and all the 
things which you can desire are not fit to be com- 
pared with it. And remember that this great gift 
has been imparted to you freely. You deserve it 
not; to you belong shame and confusion of face; 
it is not by works of righteousness which you have 
done that you are thus saved ; but it is by grace, 



i94 



cunirriAx peiife< 



even by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ ; for 
" of his fullness have all we received, and g 
for grace." But while you prize your pri\ 
and ascribe glory and dominion to Him who hath 
washed you from your sins in His own blood, and 
made you kings and priests unto God, tal 
heed lest you should be unduly elated : for m 
make their very graces an occasion of b 
Moses well knew the pronencss of man to d 
the gifts of In is privi 

pedestal for his pride; and, therefoi 
described in glowing language the peculiar adv.i 

of the land of promise, the fertility of its 
the abundance of its provisions, the ricl 
treasures, and the grandeur of its cities, he cha 
the Israelites, who were about to tai u of 

that land, to beware lest they should forget the 
Lord their God lest, their heart should be lifted up, 
and they should say in their heart that their own 
power and the might of their hand had 1 all 

this wealth. And to this end the man of God 
deemed it necessary to remind them of their ori 
of their once deeply degraded state, and the perils 
of their pilgrimage. How that (b)d brought them 
"out of the land of Egypt," from the housi 
bondage, and led them through that great and 
rible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents and 
scorpions and drought, where there was no water; 
who brought " them " forth water out of the rock 
of flint, and "fed" "them" in the wilderness with 
manna; and that God did all this that "he might 



ADVICE TO PROFESSORS. 195 

humble 5 them and "prove" them, t; to do " them 
good in their latter end. Nor were the Israelites 
the only persons who have been in danger of being 
captivated by the subtle sin of pride and self-adula- 
tion. St. Paul was liable to be exalted above 
measure through the abundance of the revelations ; 
therefore there was given to him a thorn in the 
flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet him, lest he 
should be exalted above measure. Humble your- 
selves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God; 
familiarize yourselves with the thoughts of the rock 
from whence you have been hewn, and the hole of 
the pit from whence you have been digged. Think 
of what you once were, of the horrible darkness in 
which you were involved, and of the direful pun- 
ishment to which you were exposed, and from 
which you have been rescued by the abundant 
mercy of God ; and while }~ou rejoice, rejoice with 
trembling, and walk humbly with your God. 

III. " Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of 
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.*' Seek to 
abound in every good word and work, and to in- 
crease with all the increase of God. Follow on to 
know the Lord, and to make accessions to your 
stock of Christian graces. It may seem strange 
and paradoxical how any improvements can be made 
to a state of perfection ; and were Christian per- 
fection absolute and infinite, any increase or addi- 
tion made to it would be impossible. But the per- 
fection of all finite beings is limited : and there- 






196 CMMSTIAH rERFECTWX. 

fore even superior intelligences are capable of im- 
provement. Reason is progressive; it is ever on 
the advance; new ideas will be formed, sources of 
new enjoyment opened, and habits of holiness eon- 
firmed. " The holiness of an innocent creature," 
says Dr. Watts, " consists in attaining the knowl- 
edge of the nature and will of God, according 
the utmost of its own present capa md the 

means of discovery which it enjoys; and in the va- 
rious exercises of love to (rod, in an exact propor- 
tion to its knowledge; or to express it briefly tli 
an innocent creature is perfectly holy when it 
knows and loves God to the utmost reach of its 
present powers. If this be done, the o sinful 

defect, no guilty imperfection ; and yet there may 
be almost an infinite difference in the various de- 
grees of power and capacity, of knoM and 
love, amongst innocent spirits. One spirit may be 
formed capable of knowing much more of his 
Maker than another, and may be favored with rich- 
er discoveries. Now, if every new discovery 1, 
an equal proportion of love in the soul, then i 
possible that any soul might be pi holy al 
first entrance into heaven, and yet make sublime 
advances in holiness hourly." How 
the state of glorified spirits above is not ye': 
way perfect. Much is wanting to their full and 
complete felicity. The body and community 
whereunto the}' belong, the general assembly, 
entire and full ; their common Ruler and Lord is 
not acknowledged and had in honor as He shall be. 



ADVICE TO PROFESSORS. 197 

In the meanwhile, their consummate blessedness, 
which much depends on these things, and the sol- 
emn jubilee to be held at the close and finishing of 
all God's work, is deferred." 

You, therefore, who profess to be perfect in the 
love of God, aspire after a higher state of per- 
fection ; forget the things which are behind, and 
reach forth to those things which are before ; go 
from strength to strength, and wax stronger and 
stronger. " The Christian race is not to be run at 
a heat. Religion is a steady progressive course ; it 
gains strength by going, and eventually it gains 
speed also. Progress quickens the pace, for the 
nearer the approach to the goal, the more ardent is 
the desire to reach it." Scripture portraj-s no state 
of stationary piety. All its descriptions are illus- 
trative of the necessity of advancement. We read 
of the steps of a good man — of pondering the 
path of our feet — of walking in the truth — of the 
righteous holding on his way — of following the 
Lamb, whithersoever he goeth — of fleeing for ref- 
uge to lay hold on the hope set before us — of run- 
ning, so as to obtain, and finishing our course with 
joy. And though the advancement of a Christian 
in the divine life may not be always consciously 
felt, yet where the means are diligently employed 
in reference to this, the end cannot fail to be se- 
cured. Seek then to advance in knowledge, — 
sound spiritual knowledge, — to know the way of 
God more perfectly ; to have clearer perceptions of 
what . God is in ' Himself, and what He is to us ; to 






198 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

know Him, not by abstract reasonings, or logical 
deductions, but by divine illuminations and Script- 
ural instructions; to have more enlarged views of 
the diabolical nature, the mischievous effects, and 
widely-wasting devastations, of sin ; to comprehend 
more of the illimitable love of Christ to you, — 
love, which in its breadth, "is a girdle which en- 
compasseth the globe/' extending to all a 
nations and conditions of men; in its length, con- 
tinuing from everlasting to everlasting; in its depth, 
stooping to the most abject and degrade] of Adam's 
sons ; and to the d< tbysa of human depravity ; 

and in its height, to the ineffable glories and infinite 
dignities of eternity; — to know more of the depths 
of Satan, that you may not be ignorant of any of 
his devices; in fine, as perfect Christians, you are 
bound to have your minds enriched with all saving 
knowledge, — to have the full assurance of under- 
standing. And be careful to take your knowledge 
from the Bible. Furnish yourselves from this 
treasury; draw water from this fountain. "If 
thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice 
for understanding; if thou seekest her as sil 
and searchest for her as for hid treasures ; then 
shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and 
find the knowledge of God." And let your ad- 
vancement in love keep pace with your progress in 
knowledge. Knowledge, if unaccompanied by 
piety, puffeth up ; but love edifieth. Nothing can 
compensate for the absence of love. You must be 
rooted and grounded in love, forbear one another 



ADVICE TO PROFESSORS. 199 

in love, be knit together in love, speak the truth in 
love, and be without blame before Christ in love. 

IV. Live by faith in the Son of God. Trust in 
Him with all your heart, stay 3 T ourselves upon His 
promises, and believe that He will keep that which 
you have committed unto Him until that day. It 
may please God to try you, for "the Lord trieth 
the righteous." You ma}' be called to endure a 
great fight of afflictions, your health may decline, 
your bones may be visited with strong pain, or 
death may tear from your embraces the desire of 
your eyes at a stroke. And with the water of 
affliction you may also have the bread of adversity. 
He who giveth power to get wealth may withhold 
from you that power ; and poverty the most abject, 
and the most extreme, may be your portion. Satan, 
also, who desireth to have you, that he may sift you 
as wheat, may thrust sore at you that you may fall. 
All these things may occasion much severe ex- 
ercise of mind and great depression of spirits. 
Your souls may be cast down and disquieted within 
you ; suggestions that God is unkind, that your 
trials are more than you can bear, may be presented 
to your mind ; but in this extemity faith will render 
you invulnerable. By its impenetrable shield 3^011 
will be enabled to quench all the fiery darts of the 
wicked one; therefore never suffer this shield to 
be wrested from you. However severe your con- 
flicts, however dark your prospects, still look up- 
wards, Trust in the Lord forever; adore His 



200 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

inscrutable providence. All things are now working 
together for your good. " God moves in a mys- 
terious way " ; but though clouds and darkness are 
round about Him, yet justice and judgment are the 
habitation of His seat. He doeth all things well; 
but "he giveth not account of any of his matte 
Therefore commit thy way unto the Lord, trust i 
in Him, and He shall bring it to pass; and He 
shall bring forth thy righteousness as the Light, and 
thy judgment as the noon-day. 

V. Be on your guard against your enemi 
Enemies you must expeci to have, and by their 

power or policy they may prevail against you. 
There is no state of piety or perfection upon earth, 
that may not be forfeited. You may be strong i:i 

faith to-day, but to-morrow that faith may be ship- 
wrecked. After having clean escaped from them 
who live in error, you may be allured through the 
lusts of the flesh, and again entangled therein : and 
your latter end be worse than the beginning. Th 
fore keep your heart with all diligence ; guard well 
your thoughts, and, above all, your senses; tl 
have a direct communication with the mind, and the 
current of temptation flows in on the inward man, 
through one or other of these external chann 
The serpent seduced Eve by presenting an 6b] 
that was pleasant to the eyes. David fell by a simi- 
lar process of temptation. Satan strove to corrupt 
our Saviour by showing Him all the kingdoms 
the world, and the glory of them ; and you may 



ADVICE TO PROFESSORS. 201 

objects, or hear words, or feel sensations, that may 
become occasions of sin to you, and that will, with- 
out precaution, inevitably defile your hearts. There 
are objects that must not be touched, nor even 
looked after. There are words which must not only 
never escape your lips, but against which you must 
stop your ears. There are appetites that require 
the most constant vigilance to keep within due 
bounds ; therefore, look well to yourselves ; es- 
pecially as you will occasionally have to come in 
contact with men of this world, — unreasonable and 
wicked men, — who will either seek to provoke you 
to wrath, by haughty, insolent and sarcastic lan- 
guage, or else entice you to go into forbidden paths, 
by flattering speeches and a deceitful tongue. Our 
Saviour charged His primitive followers to " Be- 
ware of men " ; and that charge stands recorded 
for your observance. " Man is to man the sorest, 
surest foe." The most atrocious crimes have been 
perpetrated at the instigation or by the artifice of 
others. Every human being with whom you asso- 
ciate may directly or indirectly become your temp- 
ter. And temptation is frequently most successful 
where it is least looked for ; therefore, 

" We should suspect some danger nigh, 
Where we possess delight.' ' 

He who would instinctively shun a foe appearing as 
a roaring lion, may yet be incautiously seduced by 
one who seems an angel of light ; for " oft suspi- 
cion sleeps at wisdom's gate, and to simplicity re- 
signs her charge." But the admonitions of Holy 



202 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

Writ should never be forgotten by you. " Watch 
and pray, lest ye enter into temptation."' " There- 
fore, let us not sleep, as do others ; but let us watch 
and be sober," "putting on the breastplate of faitli 
and love ; and for an helmet the hope of salvation." 
And as every relation in life, and v tation in 

society, may become an < i of sin to you, it 

behooves you to be armed at all points, to watch in 
all things, and to pray with all prayer. In p 
perity, watch against the encroachments of 
indulgence, arrogance and sensuality ; and in ad 
sity, against mental depression, fretfu and 

impatience. If you are flattered by men, be on 
jour guard against self-complacency ; unduly 

elated; attribute all the good that is within you 
to God; and make all events redound to Hi 
If censures await you, follow 1 lie example of 
Him who, when lie was reviled, reviled not again; 
but committed Himself to Him who judgeth ri 
eously. And as you are kept in a state of salvation 
by the power of God, make your requests known 
unto Him, that lie may guide you by II and 

sustain you by His hand; that lie may be your 
sun and your shield. In Jlim you may ever find 
resources adequate to all your wants, lie can be 
your light in darkness, your strength in weaki, 
your defence in danger, and your life in death. But 
He will be inquired of by you. To find grace to 
help you in the time of need you must come boldly 
to the throne of grace. You must let your requ 
be made known unto God, and pour out your 



ADVICE TO PROFESSORS. 203 

hearts before Him in your families, and in your 
closets ; and do this frequently, fully and impor- 
tunately. Carry about with you also a conscious- 
ness of His all-pervading presence ; feel after Him 
wherever you go ; make every place a place of 
prayer; let every occurrence suggest matter for 
prayer, and let every desire be sanctified by prayer. 
And if you love God with all your hearts, this 
exercise will be most congenial with your disposi- 
tions, and most delightful to your souls. Your 
prayers will be the language of love, the genuine 
and spontaneous aspirations of your souls, which 
will ascend as freely to God as kindred substances 
and native elements tend to one common centre. 

VI. Let Godly sincerity govern all your actions. 
Truth in the inward parts is imperatively required 
of you. This disposition is most sententiously de- 
scribed by the poet, — 

" Still let thy heart be true to God, 
Thy words to it, thy actions to them both." 

The Scriptures commend nothing more than sin- 
cerity, having a single eye, a true heart and a pure 
conscience ; and they condemn nothing more than 
insincerity, guile and hypocrisy. Uprightness is so 
pleasing to God that the " most upright " is one of 
His divinely inspired appellations. It is a godlike 
excellency, an imitation of His truth, and corre- 
sponds to His omnisciency and heart-searching eye. 
Let your love, therefore, be without dissimulation; 
walk, uprightly, and you will walk surely. Consider; 



204 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

God iii every thing, and serve Him in every tiling, 
and please Him in eveiy thing. And remember 
that nothing can please God that is not done with 
a design to please Him. You will never pi 
God by mere accident. He looks at the heart, He 
tries the reins, and weighs the spirits of men; and 
nothing can serve as a substitute for sincerity. 1 
should you seek to please God merely in actions 
which are peculiarly connected with His worship 
and service, but the glory of God must be aime 
in every thing, in every work, in every word and in 
every thought. The intention to please your 
Maker must be the spring of all your actions, and 
the governing principle of all your li\ This 

must be your ultimate object ; this your di 
aim ; and all other views musl be collateral and sir 
dinate. The following text will suffice to show 
the prominent situation which this doctrine holds 
in the Scriptures. "I will behave myself wisely in 
a perfect way. I will walk within my house wiih a 
perfect heart/' "He that walketh in a 
way, he shall serve me/' " The light of the body 
is the eye; if, therefore, thine eye be single, thy 
whole body shall be full of light" "Servants^ be 
obedient to them that are your masters according 
the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of 
your heart, as unto Christ; not with eye service, 
men pleasers ; but as the servants of Christ, doing 
the will of God from the heart." 

You, who serve God with perfect hearts and 
willing minds, will find no difficulty in seeking to 



ADVICE TO PROFESSORS. 205 

please Him, while engaged in the solemnities of His 
worship ; for in His temple doth every one speak of 
His glory. But truth and consistency require you 
to be, wherever you are, in the spirit of devotion ; 
to regard yourselves as creatures consecrated to 
holiness, and that it is sacrilege in you to live for 
any other purpose ; to carry this devotional spirit 
with you into your families, into your business, in- 
to your pursuits, and into all your occupations. 
" Whether, therefore, ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever 
ye do, do all to the glory of God." "Eating," 
says Law, " is one of the lowest actions of our 
lives ; it is common to us with mere animals, 
yet we see that the piety of all ages of the world 
has turned this ordinary action of an animal 
life into a piety to God, by making every 
meal to begin and end with devotion. We 
see yet some remains of this custom in most 
Christian families ; some such little formality as 
shows you that people used to call upon God at the 
beginning and end of their meals. But, indeed, it 
is now generally so performed as to look more like 
a mockery on devotion than any solemn application 
of the mind unto God. In one house you may per- 
haps see the head of a family just pulling off his 
hat; in another half getting up from his seat; and 
another shall, it may be, proceed so far as to make 
as if he said something ; but, however, these little 
attempts are the remains of some devotion that was 
formerly used at such times, and are proofs that re- 
ligion has belonged to this part of common life." 



206 CHRIS TIAX PERFEi 7 7 02) . 

The prophet Zechariah, in describing the estab- 
lishment and prosperity of the Gospel Church, 
says : " In that day shall there be upon the bells of 
the horses, Holiness cjnto tuv: Lord: and the 
pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls be- 
fore the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem, and in 
Judah, shall be holiness unto the Lord of ho 
and all they that sacrifice shall come and tal 
them, and seethe therein; and in that day tl 
shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the 
Lord of hosts." Holiness unto the Lord, was the 
peculiar badge of the sacerdotal office \ it was en- 
graven on the high priest's mitre : but now, un- 
der the gospel dispensation, even "tin* I the 
horses " shall bear this inscription ; intimating that 
the most secular occupations shall be 
that they shall become holy actions; for the people 
of Jesus, being a holy priesthood, all their actions, 
civil as well as religious, shall exhibit one uniform 
tenor of holiness. And the pots in the Lord's 
house, which the priests used in their apartments, 
shall be like the bowls before the altar, consecrated 
to God, and employed in a holy manner. God's 
spiritual priests, making even their common meals 
a sacrifice, by their prayers, thanksgivings, and 
gracious use of God's creatures; whether they 
or drink, doing all to the glory of God; " the v 
animals they use and the instruments they work with 
shall all be consecrated unto God through Christ." 
For "we ought," says Mr. Wesley, "to be in the 
Church, as the saints are in heaven ; and in the 



ADVICE TO PROFESSORS. 207 

house, as the holiest men are in the Church, doing 
our work in the house as we pray in the Church, 
worshiping God from the ground of our heart.*' 

VII. Scrupulously attend to the dictates of your 
conscience. Time-servers make conscience truckle 
to convenience, and shape their course according to 
their circumstances. But yoti have "a good con- 
science, in all tilings willing to live honestly " ; and 
a good conscience is God's umpire in man; it speaks 
God's language ; its testimony invariably harmoni- 
zes with His will, as face resembles face in a glass, 
or as the impression answers to the seal. You 
cannot offend your conscience without doing de- 
spite to the spirit of grace ; nor can you do homage 
to your conscience, without reverencing Him whose 
vicegerent conscience is. Therefore, exercise your- 
selves, " to have always a conscience void of offense 
towards God and towards men." Study to preserve 
the purity of conscience. Every act of sin leaves a 
stain and a cloud upon the conscience. Sin is that 
beam in the mental eye which spoils the clearness of 
its vision. Therefore, do nothing that will obstruct 
the light or sully the purity of conscience. A good 
conscience is tender, easily wounded, and susceptible 
of exquisite pain. You may offend your consciences 
by the indulgence of that trifling, levity-loving dis- 
position, to which volatile spirits are prone ; a dis- 
position, hostile to that profound and godlike 
seriousness, which Christianity commends and gen- 
erates. You may do it by suffering yourselves, when 



203 



CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 



assailed by provocations, to think you do well to be 

angry, and thus allow irascible tempers to prevail 
in your minds; tempers destructive of that calm 
and holy quiet which conscience breathes over the 
soul. You may do it by letting your hearts 
after covetousness; suffering the cares of this world 
to obtain an undue ascendency over you; by per- 
mitting your imaginations to fix on forbidden ob- 
jects ; or through the neglect of those duties by the 
practice of which the purity and tenderness of con- 
science can be alone preserved. 

That conscience may be maintained inviolate, that 
your hearts may never reproach you as long as you 
live, seek for more luminous and soul-radiating com- 
munications of the Divine Spirit; acquaint your- 
selves thoroughly with the law of your God; fur- 
nish conscience with comprehensive perceptions of 
religious truth; preserve a right judgment in all 
things, and follow the dictates of that jud 
let its appeals be always heard, and its monitions 
followed. Never arm your conscience against your- 
selves; risk everything to preserve its friendship. 
Does it warn you of danger? — shun that danger. 
Does it prescribe the course of duty? — walk in 
that course with undeviating exactness. And never 
allow yourselves for a moment to think that this is 
an unnecessary or an unprofitable exercise. " It is 
not a vain thing for you, it is your life." It is the 
comfort of your life. "Our rejoicing," says the 
apostle, "is this, the testimony of our conscience, 
that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with 



ADVICE TO PROFESSORS. 209 

fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have 
had our conversation in the world." They who 
divorce comfort from duty, and like some of old, 
love to tread out the corn, but refuse to break the 
clods, walk in the light of their own fire, and in the 
sparks of their own kindling ; they hold a lie in their 
right hand, and sport themselves with their own 
deceivings. And it is the safety of your life. A 
good conscience, purged from dead works, and 
sprinkled with the blood of Jesus, is like a brazen 
wall, or an impregnable fortress, against all inter- 
nal commotions, and external assaults. He who pre- 
serves this, like the Hebrew man-slayer, who had 
secured his retreat to the city of refuge, is quiet from 
the fear of evil. " Who is he that will harm you, if 
ye be followers of that which is good?*' "If our 
hearts condemn us not, then have we confidence 
towards God." 

VIII. If, through unwatchfulness, or the power 
of temptation, you should at any time be overcome 
of evil, and thus wound your conscience and grieve 
the Spirit of God, never rest until you are restored 
unto the joy of God's salvation, and re-established 
with His free Spirit. The gospel makes provision, 
not only for the presumptuous and reiterated trans- 
gressions of sinners, but for the occasional defects 
and inadvertent errors of saints. It assumes that 
sinners will sin, and that saints may sin ; the former 
are altogether faulty, and the latter may " be over- 
taken in. a fault." For there is no state described 






210 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

in Scripture from which a man cannot draw back ; 
and draw back even unto perdition. " They who 
are sanctified, may yet fall back and perish " (Heb. 
x, 29). "My little children," says the apostle, 
"these things write I unto you, that ye sin not" \ 
that is, that ye may not commit any sin ; for while 
St. John guarded the Christians of his day against 
all sin in general, he must be considered as guarding 
them against every sin in particular. " But if any 
man sin" — and the expression carries with it the 
assumption that sin is evitable, — that no man is 
necessitated to commit it, — then, lie should recol- 
lect, that "we have an advocate with the Father, 
Jesus Christ the righteous." An advocate is a 
pleader, or the defender of a cause, in a court of 
judicature; and Christ appears in the | e of 

God, making intercession for us, answering all the 
charges that can be brought against us, either from the 
law, or divine justice, or the accusations of Satan. And 
to show that his advocacy is effectual, the apostle 
adds: "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not 
for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world/ 1 
Thus the "advocate is the priest, and the priest is 
the sacrifice " ; and such efficacy this sacrifice hath, 
that it is available for " the sins of the whole world." 
Therefore, you need never despair; the door of 
mercy is open ; your backslidings may be healed ; 
your advocate is pleading for you ; you have fallen 
by your iniquity, but you may rise again by repent- 
ing, and doing your first works. Then take with 
you words, and turn unto the Lord : say unto Him, 



ADVICE TO PROFESSORS. 211 

Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously : 
so will we render the calves of our lips. 

IX. Studiously and constantly endeavor to im- 
prove your talents. All have received one or more 
talents. Endowments of mind, gifts of Providence, 
and measures of grace, are all talents ; and all are 
improvable, all may be turned to your advantage, 
and all rendered subservient to your present and 
everlasting happiness. God bestows nothing in vain, 
nothing for which you are not accountable, nor for 
which He will not reckon with you at the final 
audit. Occupy, therefore, until He comes. Ac- 
complish as hirelings your day. Have you time ? — 
redeem it from its tyrannical taskmasters. Pride, 
sensuality and indolence carry captive at their will, 
and hold in debasing and destructive thraildom the 
most precious portions of our time. Therefore, 
watch against their fascinating encroachments. 
Never be unemployed; never be triflingly em- 
ployed : — 

" Time wasted is existence, used, is life. 
Part with it as with money, sparing; pay 
No moment but in purchase of its worth; 
And what its worth, ask death-beds; — they can tell." 

And bodily exercise is not more necessary to pre- 
serve the outward man in health, than mental dis- 
cipline is to preserve the inward man in peace. 
Find occupation, therefore, for your thoughts. Sur- 
rounded as we are with a world of wonders, dis- 
playing the power and majesty of the great Creator, 



212 



CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 



and favored as we are with the volume of revela- 
tion, exhibiting the gloiy of the world's Redeemer, 
we can never be at a loss for subjects, wh 
thoughts may rest, and expatiate with profound 
adoration and incalculable advantage. Take pains 
to manage your thoughts ; fix them on some weig 
truths; turn them with introverted attention on 
themselves; and above all, employ them in medita- 
ting what you should render to Him who laid down 
His life for you. 

Have you property? — consider what opportuni- 
ties you have of doing good with it. How man 
you may relieve! How much happi 
diffuse! And remember, also, that lie who hath 
said, "the silver is mine, and the gold is mi 
hath not only prohibited you from up 

treasures for yourselves, but hath 
upon you to open your hand wide unto your brol I 
to the poor and to the needy : and for this V. 
Lord shall bless you in all your works, and iii all 
that you put your hand unto ; so that what you be- 
stow upon the poor is "twice blessed; it blesseth 
him who gives and him who ta 

Have you influence? — let it be employed in 
most comprehensive efficiency for the benefit of all 
to whom you can have access. Are you parents? — 
let your children participate in the advanta 
arising from your authoritative admonitions, and 
affectionate instructions. Are you masters ? — man- 
age your influence so that your servants may be 
w r on over to "serve the Lord Christ." Have you 



AUVICE TO PROFESSORS. 213 

friends ? — seek to make them friends of God, 
Bring them in the arms of faith and prayer to the 
sinner's friend. Do you hold a subordinate rank in 
society? — still you have some influence. "A 
prayer out of a poor man's mouth reacheth to the 
ears of God." Christianity travels upwards, "from 
the least unto the greatest"; and many a rich 
man has "been savingly benefited by the examples 
and counsels of the poor. If you cannot do all the 
good you desire, do what good you can. Xeglect 
no opportunities, forego no means of doing good. 
This will augment your stock of goodness. Habits 
are strengthened by repeated acts. And recollect, 
that " to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth 
it not, to him it is sin." 

Finally. Live with eternity in your view. The 
world you now inhabit is doomed to dissolution. 
"God will destroy this place." "The earth, and 
tine works that are therein, shall be burned up." 
Bat "the invisible things of God," — the things 
which are not seen, " are eternal." Heaven is "a 
better, and an enduring substance." And to that 
world of realities you are hourly hastening. Your 
present life is but as a vapor that appeareth for a 
little time and then vanisheth away. Eternity is 
just before you, an eternity of blessedness ; now is 
your salvation nearer than when you first believed. 
Oh, let the things which God hath revealed to you 
of the heavenly state be ever present to your minds. 
Read of them in 3-our Bibles ; meditate on them in 



214 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

your secret retirements ; converse concerning them 
with your Christian companions. Sequester your- 
selves occasionally from "this world of noise and 
show," this region of dreams and shadows, that 
your souls, by devout aspirations, may plume their 
pinions, stretch their upward flight, and settle in 
eternity. Never forget your high destination ; you 
are born from above; your hope is already laid up 
for you in heaven; your treasure and your ai 
tions are there; thither your Forerunner, who is 
gone to prepare a place for you. has long since en- 
tered; and, inspired by J lis Spirit, attracted by 
His example, and directed by 1 1 is Word, count 
myriads of our ransomed race, from all the climes 
and kindreds of the earth, have followed Him in 
the regeneration, and are now sitting down with 
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets in 
the kingdom of God; and soon you will be ad- 
mitted into their society, participate in their 
triumphs, feast at their table, and drink the living 
streams of bliss, without satiety and without end. 
And can you contemplate this celestial state 
boundless blessedness with a cool, dispassionate, ice- 
like apathy? Do not your hearts glow with grati- 
tude, and kindle into rapture at the thought that 
you are already in possession of the earnest of your 
eternal inheritance; and that, erelong, the new 
Jerusalem, in all its glory and magnificence, and 
with all "its scenes of permanent delight, full above 
measure, lasting beyond bound," shall burst upon 
your view ? When earth shall be exchanged for 



* 



ADVICE TO PROFESSORS 215 

heaven, and the conflicts and sorrows of time for 
the triumphs and the ecstasies of eternity. And 
with such expectations, so divinely inspired, so 
gloriously elevated, so immovably founded, and so 
nearly to be realized, what manner of persons ought 
ye to be, in all holy conversation and godliness? 
How harmless, child-like and patient in your dispo- 
sitions ! How spiritual, heavenly, and divine in 
your affections ! How sober, serious, and self-deny- 
ing in your deportment ! And how evangelically 
consistent in your whole conduct ! Thus prepared, 
deatli will be disarmed of its sting, and the grave 
divested of its terror ; and whenever your change 
comes, and your flesh and your heart fail, God will 
be the strength of your heart and your portion for- 
ever. Amen. 



